Lunar energies are the essential foundation and prerequisite for construction and operation of lunar scientific research stations. This work analyzes the energy features and requirements the lunar research station, including high power and diversified energy, high- reliability and uninterrupted day-night energy, and energy adaptability towards the lunar environment. The application advantages, limiting conditions, and development suggestions of lunar energy technologies (solar photovoltaic + energy storage batteries, solar thermal utilization, lunar nuclear energy, and renewable fuel cells) in lunar research stations are summarized and emphasized. Based on the analyses and comparisons of the energy techonologies, we propose new energy system architectures for lunar scientific research stations to provide reference for the future energy design and development of the lunar research station.

The nuclear reactor power is one of the most important power supply options for the lunar research station. To meet the electricity demand of the lunar research station, a single-cell thermionic lunar power reactor core scheme with a net power of 40kWe and a lifetime of 10 years was presented. As the single-cell thermionic fuel element’s fuel loading can be completed either on the earth or relatively conveniently on the lunar surface, two core schemes were given respectively. The radial power distribution of the reactor core was optimized by fuel partition loading, and the power distribution, temperature effect, worth of bowl and safety rod, burnup and hydrogen leakage effect, reactivity balance and special critical safety problem of the core were calculated and analyzed. The results show that both of the core schemes can meet the requirements of neutronics and special critical safety, and have their own characteristics. This research results can provide reference for the selection of lunar power reactor core scheme and the formulation of workflow.

Based on the an analysis of the characteristics of lunar exploration and laser power transmission (LPT), considering the feature of covering the polar regions for the lunar polar orbit, a laser wireless power supply system operating in the lunar polar orbit is proposed to power the lunar surface explorer in the polar regions to solve the power supply problem during the shadow period of up to 14 days. For the lunar orbiter, the 500 km circular lunar polar orbit selected. The lunar orbiter is equipped with high-power solar array, high-power laser, laser emission and beam pointing control device. The lunar surface explorer is equipped with laser PV array to obtain electric power by laser power transmission in the visible arc between the lunar orbiter and the lunar surface explorer during the shadow period. According to the analysis, for the 12 kW laser and 800 mm aperture transmitting optical system and 4 m receiving laser array, the average power supply is about 2.7 kW during LPT, and the average power supply of lunar explore can reach 300 W, which can meet the survival and partial operating requirements of the surface explorers.

To meet the requirement of long-term operation of our country’s deep space exploration missions, a passive and highly reliable heat pipe reactor is chosen as the power source. In order to achieve a light mass, UMo with high uranium density, enough high temperature mechanical properties and irradiation stability is selected as the reactor fuel. Na heat pipe with Haynes cladding is chosen for heat transfer. The heat pipes are placed inside the fuel. Brazing or Liquid Interface Diffusion can be used as the integrated method between the heat pipes and the fuel. Static thermoelectric technology, which possesses a long life and rich successful experience, is chosen as the power conversion system. And Half-Heusler with suitable operation temperature and high efficiency is selected as the conversion material. In order to achieve an ultra-long life, a burnable poison control scheme and a variety of creative and passive control schemes to increase the negative temperature coefficient of the core are proposed. The final power scheme is expected to meet the needs of our country’s deep space exploration missions.

For RTPV, As a high-efficiency deep space nuclear power for deep space exploration, RTPVit’s high temperature insulation is one of the key factors affecting the system’s thermoelectric conversion efficiency. A new high temperature MLI using ceramic lattice separator and molybdenum foil reflector was studied. Based on a comparison of the ceramic lattice preparation processes such as sintering, PVD and atmospheric plasma spraying, ZrO₂ lattice with a diameter of 1.5mm, a thickness of 0.1mm, and spacing of 15mm was prepared on molybdenum foil through atmospheric plasma spraying, which was used as 1 unit of MLI. The thermal insulation performance of a 10 units high temperature MLI was simulated. The results show that, its transient and steady thermal insulation performance is better than that of the traditional high temperature MLI. It can meet the insulation requirements of deep space RTPV with little edge heat leakage, no residue generation, and long term resistance to 1 000 ℃ in a small size.

For improving the efficiency of the deep space radioisotope thermophotovoltaic system and the urgent need for domestically produced infrared thermal photovoltaic energy conversion devices, this study conducted research on the manufacturing process of GaSb cells and established fundamental parameters for cell preparation through PC1D simulation calculations. The double diffusion method was employed for cell fabrication while simultaneously a self-made rapid testing system was established to evaluate their performance and continuously optimize related preparation processes. Furthermore, variations in GaSb cell performance under different radiation temperatures were explored. The diffusion law of Zn in GaSb was mastered, and the developed GaSb cells achieved high output power and filling factor under the same radiation spectrum. This work lays a solid research foundation for enhancing efficiency and engineering applications of deep space thermophotovoltaic isotope power systems.

Given the current situation where laser ranging data processing algorithms from domestic and international organizations are not publicly available, in this paper an LLR data processing model was established first. Using self-developed software, which implements error algorithms for general relativity effects, atmospheric delay effects, Earth tides, and lunar tides, high-precision LLR data processing was achieved. The results indicate that when using the data processing program to validate the LLR standard point data published by the International Lunar Ranging Service (ILRS) for the years 2006 to 2021, the root mean square residual is approximately 3.7 cm. Thereinto, the root mean square residual of LLR data in 2014 and before is approximately 3cm, and the root mean square residual of LLR data after 2014 is approximately 4cm. Furthermore, to address the issue of reduced accuracy in LLR data validation due to discrepancies between lunar retroreflector coordinates and lunar ephemerides, the least squares method was employed to estimate the coordinates of the lunar retroreflectors. The results show that, when used as input for the program, the adjusted retroreflector coordinates improve the validation accuracy by approximately 0.5 cm.

To tackle flight control difficulties in Mars exploration under the conditions of remote TT&C distance and large time delay, the mission planning technology for flight control of Mars exploration was investigated systematically. A flight control system for deep space exploration with large time delay was constructed. A predictive and iterative flight control methodology was proposed, based on the interplanetary large time delay model. The open-loop control mode for deep space exploration was designed, in which the states of TT&C uplink and downlink were decoupled appropriately. The automatic scheduling of complex TT&C mode switching and the adaptive correction of telecommunication time delay for telecommand were also realized, while important functions such as optimal allocation of TT&C resources, reasonable arrangement of flight control events and automatic conflict resolution were implemented. The difficulties encountered in flight control of Mars exploration, including TT&C with large time delay, innovative flight control mode, difficult state coordination between the probe and ground, and high requirements in emergency response, have been resolved effectively. This research guarantees the safe and reliable implementation of China’s first Mars orbiting exploration and the critical Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) process.

In order to simulate the strata of the Moon, a miniaturized high-yield neutron generator and an integrated neutron-gamma spectrometer were designed, and an elemental analysis library and a solution method were established, a simulated well and a ground verification platform with known element content were constructed, enabling the realization of quantitative analysis for primary elements, rare elements, and other elements within the simulated lunar subsurface. The neutron generator has a yield of between 107 and 108 N/s (corresponding to pulse and DC modes, respectively), and the detection time is in the order of minutes, which can achieve an accuracy of 5%. A breakthrough in the key technology of lightweight miniaturization for neutron-gamma spectrometers in planetary exploration missions has been accomplished through this research. This achievement has established a strong foundation for future endeavors in payload space engineering.

Currently, there are international requirements for the prevention and control of return pollution in planetary sampling and return missions, among which the search, recycling, and disposal stage of the return device is an important part of achieving return pollution prevention and control. Starting from protecting the Earth’s biosphere and the rigor of scientific research, this paper analyzed the pollution risks during the planetary sampling and return process based on the flight phase and task execution of spacecraft. It is found that there are biosafety risks in both normal return and abnormal situations. Therefore, a pollution prevention and control plan for the search, recycling, on-site disposal, and transfer process of spacecraft was proposed for the first time. Innovative design of search and recycling processes and equipment with unmanned and intelligent features has been made to achieve ground safety disposal of landers in the landing area, ensuring that the spacecraft does not cause pollution to the Earth’s environment during the disposal and recycling process, and that the samples carried by the spacecraft are not contaminated, This paper provides technical support for future planetary sampling and return missions in China to prevent and control pollution.

To meet the demand of planetary protection during subsequent high-level deep space exploration missions, the first microbial resource center for planetary protection was constructed. The microbial strains isolated from the surface of the deep space probe in the AIT stage were selected as the main objects. Based on three aspects of distribution representativeness, genetic information specificity and biosafety, 359 microbial strains belonging to 80+ species were selected and preserved, among which spore-forming bacteria accounted for 69.9%. In addition, the standardized microbial strain information management and query system was established for the information management of microbial strain resources for planetary protection. The microbial resource center for planetary protection is very important for ensuring the development of planetary protection missions from the collection of microbial resources to technology development, function verification and engineering application in our country.