One of the main problems that scientists must deal with before space exploration really becomes a possibility is how to keep a steady, reliable energy supply for missions that push way past Earth’s orbit. While it seems like it would be high in the priority list, along with how to send enough supplies, it truly has become the number one barrier to pushing space exploration further than ever before. But NASA is on the case, and they have come up with a potential solution that could change the way we see not just space exploration in the future, but in the present as well. It is so revolutionary that some experts are even calling it “like building a highway to Mars.”
The main way that we have chosen to power space crafts until now is solar panels. After all, we are in a solar system and when we end a rover to, for example, Mars, there is a decent chance that as long as the landing goes well the robot will have a few hours of sun a day to recharge. But solar panels have many drawbacks, they are bulky, heavy, tricky to handle, and not known for their durability, which is a problem when you are far from Earth and supplies are not available.
The new NASA solution to how to get energy in space
The new system that NASA is pioneering still uses the same concept and it still tries to take advantage of solar energy. They have called it Roll-Out Solar Array, ROSA for short, and it is a new type of solar panel that uses a pioneer design with composite arms that can “roll out” using stored elastic energy. What that means is that it has fewer things that can break and weigh less, which makes them cheaper and the missions more dependable.
But that does not make them less efficient, each ROSA wing can generate over 20 kilowatts of energy and keep doing so for more than 10 years and if you stack eight of them together like on the International Space Station, and you are looking at over 160 kW, which is enough to power up more scientific experiments, keep habitats running, and support complex systems in harsh space environments.
Unlike other innovations and improvements on technology, especially renewables, ROSA is already in use and has been tried and tested, in fact it has already been installed on the International Space Station and is being used for big-deal missions like Gateway (the planned space station orbiting the Moon) and DART (for planetary defense).
But why is ROSA being called a highway to Mars? It is a metaphor, as highways connect cities and let you move people and goods easily. ROSA is building the energy “infrastructure” we will need to operate reliably in space, as without power astronauts would not be able to run communication systems, life support, propulsion, or scientific gear. Since ROSA has a modular, flexible setup, it also means that it can be scaled and customized for different missions without starting from scratch every time, extending its lifespan more than expected.
As Peter Cannito, President and CEO of Redwire, put it “The technical success of the program paves the way for new opportunities for commercial space stations and sustained energy infrastructure on the Moon and beyond.”
And it would be a huge win for astronauts and NASA if we could do this in this lifetime. ROSA is giving a new life to technology that we did not think would be useful long term and is helping with the standardization process that we will need to begin if we are to have Mars bases or long-term Moon missions.