The continuous supply of electrical energy full-day has now become the biggest problem in establishing a moonbase. The closed Brayton cycle (CBC) coupled with thermoelectric generator (TEG) can effectively is proposed in this paper to solve this issue. The functions of the two power generation systems are different: CBC is for high power generation and TEG provides energy at nighttime or when solar energy is insufficient. After the study of full-day performance, it is concluded that CBC thermal efficiency gets 31.4% as the time advanced to lunar noon. Using TEG with CBC thermal efficiency below 0, the maximum energy conversion efficiency and power output of TEG are 0.67%, 1.8 kW, respectively. In the lunar nighttime, CBC working hours are directly affected by the flow rate. With limited mass TSUs, higher flow rate represents higher thermal energy consumption, and the power generation capacity of CBCs gradually diminishes. In addition, increasing the number of TEG stages has a directly effect on weight. The difference in weight between 1-stage and 4-stage is 4 times. CBC-TEG can solve the problem of continuous energy supply full-day, but parameters such as the operating flow rate and TEG stage number need to be selected according to practice needs.
The extreme environmental conditions and unique chemical composition of Venus’s atmosphere make it a key target for planetary science while posing significant challenges and opportunities for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). This paper proposes an integrated in-situ resource utilization system that combines filtration, enrichment, and spectroscopic detection for key atmospheric gases on Venus, including H2O, PH3, NH3, H2S, and SO2. The system employs a multi-stage filtration unit to remove corrosive sulfuric acid aerosols and utilizes selective molecular-sieve adsorption to efficiently concentrate trace gases, thereby enhancing their detection sensitivity to meet the precision requirements of tunable laser spectrometers. These gases are not only potential resources for oxygen production, fuel synthesis, or chemical feedstock generation but also serve as crucial indicators of Venus’s geochemical and atmospheric processes, including volcanic activity and redox balance. The proposed technical framework provides a feasible pathway for coupling scientific investigation with practical ISRU objectives in future Venus exploration missions.
Laser-based power transmission holds promise for wirelessly delivering energy from the illuminated rims of lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), due to its high-power density and long-range directional capabilities. Yet the siting of Laser Power Transmission Stations (LPTS) faces severe constraints from rugged polar terrain and spatiotemporally variable illumination, which may impair the stability of energy provision. The paper presents, for the first time, a terrain- and illumination-aware Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) for optimizing the deployment of multi-point laser power beaming stations, to maximize effective coverage of PSRs and enhance the stability of power delivery. The deployment problem is formulated as a mixed-integer optimization model that jointly selects an optimal subset of candidate sites (discrete variables) and fine-tunes the positions of Laser Emitter Units (LEUs) within selected sites at meter-level precision (continuous variables). Three conflicting objectives are simultaneously optimized: maximizing effective coverage area, maximizing regional connectivity ratio, and minimizing the number of deployed LPTS units. Leveraging the global search capability of MOGA, the proposed method efficiently explores the complex design space to generate a Pareto-optimal solution set. Validated using real topographic data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) over the Shackleton Crater region, the optimized deployment scheme significantly outperforms the baseline configuration: effective coverage increases from 10.76% to 27.55%, while regional connectivity improves from 39.93% to 98.92%. This work presents a feasible technical solution for providing stable wireless laser power to PSRs during the establishment of future lunar bases, offering a novel pathway for the deployment of lunar infrastructure and mission planning in upcoming lunar exploration.
The lunar surface—particularly around large impact craters on the farside—displays pronounced magnetic anomalies whose origins and evolution remain enigmatic. The Chang’E-6 (CE-6) mission offers a unique opportunity to investigate the magnetic characteristics of the South Pole–Aitken basin. Here, we report the first discovery of tetrataenite, a hard magnetic mineral, in CE-6 returned fine-grained, space-weathered soil. Integrating microscopic mineralogical evidence with the Moon’s complex impact-related geology, we infer that Ni-rich chondrites metal was accreted during impact events. Subsequent repetitive impacts heated troilite droplets coated with taenite, spalling them from the parent body and depositing them in the Apollo basin. During cooling, the taenite underwent a monotectoid reaction that ordered the face-centered cubic taenite into body-centered cubic tetrataenite and simultaneously precipitated sub-micron-sized metallic iron. The presence of tetrataenite indicates that space weathering has significantly modified the magnetic evolution of the lunar surface.
To address the demand for large-scale utilization of lunar resources, this study develops an efficient microwave heating approach for lunar regolith. Based on the dielectric properties of lunar regolith—low loss at low temperatures and high loss at high temperatures—three high-efficiency microwave heating methods were proposed. These methods include increasing electric field strength, delimiting heating temperature ranges, and enriching high-loss lunar regolith minerals. A microwave heating system was established to validate the electric field increase method, with self-heating experiments conducted at 2.45 GHz and 300−800 W. The results show that: at 800 W microwave power, the temperature of the cavity can reach 1259°C within 420 s, and lunar regolith simulant can be melted. Compared with industrial microwave equipment, the proposed system achieves superior energy efficiency without requiring susceptor-assisted heating. It consequently removes the necessity of transporting auxiliary materials from Earth. This microwave heating approach provides a practical and cost-effective solution for early lunar surface construction and in situ utilization of lunar surface resources.