Solar panels are an essential energy source both on planets in the solar system and in orbits for satellites; however, a critical issue is that their performance can be severely hindered by damage to the panel’s surface and soiling. More specifically, damage from space debris can dramatically lower power generation efficiency and even cause power loss due to the damage. Like Mars Lander, dust on solar panels can lower the electricity generated and even make the whole system stop once the battery is discharged.
To tackle the listed issues, we explored protective materials and cleaning systems for solar panels. We simulated space debris by dropping mass to compare selected protective materials. Efficiency is measured by the solar panel's power difference before and after the collision. In the case of the cleaning system, two different systems—a wiper-based and a rail-based cleaning system—were designed and tested. The performance is measured by power consumption and the time until cleaning is completed.
In collision experiments, acrylic and polyethylene terephthalate glycol showed decent performance over other materials. In the cleaning system, the wiper-based system outperformed the rail-based system in terms of cleaning speed and power efficiency.
Even with high collision energy, the relatively thin materials we tested made a difference in protection. From the comparison of the cleaning system, we figured out that relatively lower-powered mechanisms could work efficiently if cleaning is applied immediately.