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I expect solar infrastructure for Mars would be done in orbit and beamed down. On earth, they are produced on the ground and putting them in orbit cost way too

I expect solar infrastructure for Mars would be done in orbit and beamed down. On earth, they are produced on the ground and putting them in orbit cost way too much. If the panels are send from Earth to Mars, then dropping them in orbit mean that you don't have to account for their weight for landing... or don't have to land at all. Park in orbit, drop you payload and back to earth for the next delivery.

lutusp 2y ago
> I expect solar infrastructure for Mars would be done in orbit and beamed down. Remember that Mars' atmospheric pressure is a tiny fraction of that on Earth, so the performance difference between a solar panel in orbit, and on the surface, is negligible (until a dust storm starts). So there's no reason to consider putting them in orbit, especially considering the much higher complexity and power losses involved in delivering power to the surface.
- inglor_cz 2y ago
  "the performance difference between a solar panel in orbit, and on the surface, is negligible (until a dust storm starts). So there's no reason to consider putting them in orbit, especially considering the much higher complexity and power losses involved in delivering power to the surface." I wonder if you could build a space elevator on Mars (third of our gravity = much less demanding on materials) and then simply get the electricity generated by orbital solar panels back to the surface using ye olde cables, immune to dust storms.
- etiennebausson 2y ago
  The point of doing it in orbit isn't the increased performance, it's the reduced maintenance, and reduced transportation cost. Every drop of fuel used to land and take-off has to be send to earth orbit first. If you replace that fuel with payload, you're looking at a very different equation.
Yizahi 2y ago
Casey has an article why beaming energy from space to ground is not worth it, due to many compounding issues. Mars can probably only strike off one issue, about beam density and ramp it up, but has many more unique issues - far away to control and replace, less energy density per area, and other issues with small colony size. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/space-based-solar-power-is-not-a-thing/ https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/space-based-so...

lutusp 2y ago

> I expect solar infrastructure for Mars would be done in orbit and beamed down. Remember that Mars' atmospheric pressure is a tiny fraction of that on Earth, so the performance difference between a solar panel in orbit, and on the surface, is negligible (until a dust storm starts). So there's no reason to consider putting them in orbit, especially considering the much higher complexity and power losses involved in delivering power to the surface.

inglor_cz 2y ago
"the performance difference between a solar panel in orbit, and on the surface, is negligible (until a dust storm starts). So there's no reason to consider putting them in orbit, especially considering the much higher complexity and power losses involved in delivering power to the surface." I wonder if you could build a space elevator on Mars (third of our gravity = much less demanding on materials) and then simply get the electricity generated by orbital solar panels back to the surface using ye olde cables, immune to dust storms.
etiennebausson 2y ago
The point of doing it in orbit isn't the increased performance, it's the reduced maintenance, and reduced transportation cost. Every drop of fuel used to land and take-off has to be send to earth orbit first. If you replace that fuel with payload, you're looking at a very different equation.

Yizahi 2y ago

Casey has an article why beaming energy from space to ground is not worth it, due to many compounding issues. Mars can probably only strike off one issue, about beam density and ramp it up, but has many more unique issues - far away to control and replace, less energy density per area, and other issues with small colony size. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/space-based-solar-power-is-not-a-thing/ https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2019/08/20/space-based-so...