LunaGrid; Considerations for Developing an Expandable & Distributed Lunar Power Grid
E.B. Williams, T. Arbuckle, J. Landreneau, Astrobotic (1016 N. Lincoln Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233)
Introduction: NASA’s goal is to help create a
thriving lunar economy. A lunar power grid is foun-
dational to that objective and would support the Ar-
temis missions. By providing power as a service on
the lunar surface it will be possible to substantially
reduce the mass of surface equipment and the ex-
penses associated with delivering and operating
them. A prerequisite is the use of technology which
provides a path to surface operation of the first
nodes within 3 to 5 years to support mission
roadmaps and provides power to customers at
≤120Vdc. The following sections describe the ba-
sis for several key characteristics of our LunaGrid
service which can satisfy both near and long term
goals.
State of Technology: The use of transmission
cables with simple metallic conductors represents
the strategy with the lowest program risk for lunar
power transfer [1]. Transmission cables also have
an existing supply chain to leverage. Several re-
cent publications have shown that AC transmission
over long distances is the more feasible and relia-
ble solution compared to DC transmission [1, 2].
The use of radiation tolerant transformers to
achieve the transmission voltage provides a more
reliable solution compared to combining derated
silicon or GaN converters in series. Existing AC mi-
crogrid controllers and algorithms, specifically
Droop Control, provides a robust solution for main-
taining grid stability without the need for direct
communications between nodes for primary grid
control (i.e. decentralized). This also provides an
existing knowledge base and the benefit of experi-
ence with managing fault scenarios experienced in
microgrid and “off the grid” applications on earth.
The Micro-grid Definition and Interface Con-
verter for Planetary Surfaces (MIPS) team at
NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) have rec-
ommended high voltage transmission at 3kVac. To
enable this solution, they have developed the Uni-
versal Modular Interface Converter (UMIC) which
provides bi-directional conversion between
120Vdc and 3kVac using modular components [3].
Expansion of the Grid: The grid architecture
and infrastructure planning is based on progres-
sively adding more nodes over time but without
knowledge of the exact geographic locations and
power demand needed in the future. NASA’s Stra-
tegic Framework seeks to develop large scale
power transmission (>100’s km) using lunar re-
sources. Any near-term solution being developed
LSIC 2023 Spring Meeting, April 24-25, 2023; Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Laurel, MD
must advance the electronics toward that objective
but also create a physical and spatial layout which
can accommodate that evolution. Designers must
consider the obstruction which these in situ surface
cables will create. Minimally insulated cables pro-
vide a very low kg/km and also establish the paths
and accommodations that will be needed for in situ
cables while providing efficient traffic paths, similar
to terrestrial roads and power lines.
The electronics and transmission system utilize
components and sub-systems which are modular,
such as the UMIC. In this context modular is de-
fined as a component or subsystem that provides
a fixed amount of power, but when combined can
provide the sum of their individual powers. Con-
verters, transformers, and cables will be modular.
To maintain reliability these modular components
are configured such that if one fails, only the power
from that component is lost.
Each distributed generation node within the grid
will have its own energy storage device so that grid
stabilizing storage increases as more generation
capacity is added. Like the energy requirements of
a particular application on Earth, risk tolerance and
criticality of the application will dictate the appropri-
ate independent backup storage and generation
needs. Additional energy storage could be in a
specific node or within the user's system, much like
how hospitals have emergency power sources.
Finally, the electrical architecture is configured
to prioritize conversion efficiency to the grid. As the
grid and lunar economy grow, multiple distributed
generation nodes (VSATs, FSPs) will be used to
provide power to large power consumers or loca-
tions. A large user requires power supplied from
multiple nodes. However, if this is not the case, al-
ternative configurations are possible since the sys-
tem is modular.
References:
[1] Barth C. and Pike D. (2022) Lunar Power Trans-
mission for Fission Surface Power. Nuclear and
Emerging Technologies for Space 2022
[2] Csank J., Thomas G., Granger M., Gardner B.
(2022) Powering the Moon: From Artemis Technol-
ogy Demonstrations to a Lunar Economy. Nuclear
and Emerging Technologies for Space 2022
[3] DeMinico M., Csank J. (2022) FY22 Micro-grid
Definition and Interface Converter for Planetary
Surfaces (MIPS) Annual Review Presentation.
STMD Game Changing Development Program
09/12/2022