The Effects of Martian and Lunar Dust on Solar Panel Efficiency and a Proposed Solution

Solar cells have been used in many space instruments to provide their required energy. Rovers and space drones are examples of these devices that are mainly relied on solar panels. Applying the solar-powered systems like rovers or drones in deep space environments like Mars or Moon has many challenges. Radiation is one of the main factors in determining the efficiency of the Photovoltaic cell. Dust is one of the main factors that decrease the irradiance of the Photovoltaic cells. For the robotic systems that are working on Martian and lunar environments, dust is the main factor that reduces their efficiency. In this paper, the effects of the Martian and lunar soil on the efficiency of a solar panel are investigated experimentally. For different layers of Martian and lunar dust on the solar panel, the output voltage, current, and power are measured and will be shown that these values are decreasing with different slopes.