Table of Contents

Grade Six Summary

One of the major difficulties in undertaking a long-duration space mission is having enough energy to meet all the operational needs of the mission.

This includes electrical energy for communication systems, heating and environmental control systems to ensure a clean reliable source of breathable air, as well as energy for the machinery needed to explore Mars.

Energy is also needed to grow plants if food supplies are to be supplemented by locally grown produce.

In this unit students have experimentally determined the solar irradiance on both the Earth and on the surface of Mars. From these measurements they are able to estimate the size of a solar-cell array needed to support a base on the surface of Mars.