Wind power could power Martian colonies

Wind power could be an important source of energy for planned bases on Mars, according to a new study published Monday (December 20th) in Nature Astronomy. The study evaluated the viability of wind turbines as an energy source for future Mars missions, and the results showed that they are sufficient to provide an alternative to the power generation that humans will be making on the Red Planet in the coming decades.

Mars and wind energy

Scientists have often taken nuclear or solar energy into account as the source of electricity to be used for facilities or colonies on Mars. Wind power didn’t seem like much of a possible option because the amount of wind on Mars is pretty weak. But now, Victoria Hartwick of NASA Ames Research Center and her team have revealed a study that will change these assumptions. The analysis shows that wind energy can be used as a stable, sustainable energy source in some important parts of Mars.

Wind power could be an alternative to solar and nuclear for Mars

Any human mission to Mars will require multiple sources of reliable power to support the astronauts and their operations, but all options for extraterrestrial power generation have pros and cons. Nuclear power, for example, is considered key to large crewed Mars missions, but placing nuclear power plants and devices close to human habitats can be extremely risky. Solar energy, on the other hand, has been used on many Mars probes in the past, but this type of energy loses much of its efficiency during the Martian night and dust storms that block the Sun’s light.

To assess whether wind power could fill this gap, Hartwick and colleagues used the NASA Ames Mars global climate model to predict wind speeds on the planet.

As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there is enough wind in the polar regions of Mars and that the annual average wind power in some specific areas offers a potential more than 3 times the current solar energy. As you know, it is known that there is frozen ice and water at the poles of Mars. While Mars has wind energy potential, it also has some major drawbacks. For example, cost and logistics are one of them.