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The sweeper arm idea is better for panels on Earth due to humidity: https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-panels-dust-magnets-0311 https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-pan
by potiuper 4y ago
The sweeper arm idea is better for panels on Earth due to humidity: https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-panels-dust-magnets-0311 https://news.mit.edu/2022/solar-panels-dust-magnets-0311 Electrostatic based solutions using a layer called an electrodynamic screen that was introduced in the early 1970s using interdigitated electrodes has potential for moistureless environments like Mars. But, the development cost for ad hoc Mars application is a high barrier.
- ffhhj 4y agoMaybe a series of thin plastic layers that can be pulled inside a container every few months, sort of a carpet-umbrella.
- bigiain 4y agoMotorcycle racers use "tear aways" on their helmet visors. Thin plastic sheets that they can tear off and throw away when the visor gets too dirty. (Not sure I'd want to deploy a system that intentionally litters single use plastics onto pristine planets though. We're already the species who spent way too long tossing old-fashioned non-biodegradable styrofoam cheeseburger containers out of 1967 Cadillac Eldorado Convertibles with whale-skin hubcaps getting 1mpg doing 110mph down the freeway...)
- sokoloff 4y agoMight be able to use something like a toner transfer belt/blanket in a laser printer, with brushes and/or electrostatics to clean the belt as it cycles in a loop.
- Hallucinaut 4y agoI mean, the alternative is littering dead rovers, so a little plastic sheet doesn't sound as bad
- bigiain 4y agoArguably at least there's good purpose behind those... <tin foil hat>And after all, they left the Pyramids and Stonehenge behind here, right???
- dylan604 4y agoMake it a cellophane type of substance that will dissolve in wate...oops. ;P