Solar cell temperature on Mars

Missions to the Martian surface will require electric power. Of the several possibilities, photovoltaic power system can offer many advantages. Photovoltaic cell performance increases with decreasing temperatures. The present paper deals with the calculation of the operating temperature of a flexible photovoltaic array needed for the determination of the electric output power from the array. The diurnal temperature variation was determined based on the solution of the heat-balance equation considering radiation, free and forced convection, and conduction. The photovoltaic array was divided into three layers (cover glass, solar cells, and substrate), for which three differential equations were obtained and solved. The solution takes into account the special atmospheric condition prevailing on Mars, considering the diurnal variation of the ambient and surface temperatures, diurnal variation of direct beam, diffuse and albedo irradiances, variation of wind speed, and variation of various Mars atmospheric parameters with temperature.