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> in niche cases like lunar night Why would lunar night be considered a niche case? Wouldn't this affect any and every long term installation?
by slfnflctd 5y ago
> in niche cases like lunar night
Why would lunar night be considered a niche case? Wouldn't this affect any and every long term installation?
- Robotbeat 5y agoNo. The lunar night is 14 days long, which means you need 336 kWh of storage for every kilowatt of constant power. In orbit, you only need maybe 30 minutes of battery, so 0.5-1kWh per kilowatt of power. Mars surface has a similar day/night cycle as Earth, plus a need for margin for dust storms, so nuclear is roughly the same mass as solar if you need near constant power, but still solar is potentially cheaper if you need a LOT of power.
- inglor_cz 5y agoAnother nearby place with really long nights is Mercury. Well, Venus too, but surface conditions are absolutely unsurvivable for people. While you can build an underground city on Mercury.