  Generating renewable energy on Mars is technologically challenging. Firstly,
because compared to Earth, key energy resources such as solar and wind are weak
as a result of very low atmospheric pressure and low solar irradiation.
Secondly, because of the harsh environmental conditions, the required high
degree of automation and the exceptional effort and costs to transport material
to the planet. Like on Earth, it is crucial to combine complementary resources
for an effective renewable energy solution. In this work, we present the result
of a design synthesis exercise, a 10 kW microgrid solution, based on a pumping
kite power system and photovoltaic solar modules to power the construction as
well as the subsequent use of a Mars habitat. To buffer unavoidable energy
fluctuations and balance seasonal and diurnal resource variations, the two
energy systems are combined with a compressed gas storage system and
lithium-sulfur batteries. The airborne wind energy solution was selected
because of its low weight-to-wing-surface-area ratio, compact packing volume
and high capacity factor which enables it to endure strong dust storms in an
airborne parking mode. The surface area of the membrane wing is 50 m2 and the
mass of the entire system, including the kite control unit and ground station,
is 290 kg. The performance of the microgrid is assessed by computational
simulation using available resource data for a chosen deployment location on
Mars. The projected costs of the system are 8.95 million Euro, excluding
transportation to Mars.
