Future Power Solutions for Exploring Hypothesized Surfaces – Power Hub

INSTITUTION

Arizona State University (ASU)

CLASS

Iridium Class (2024 – 2025)

STUDENT TEAM

ACADEMIC GUIDANCE

Prof. James McDonald

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The NASA Psyche mission aimed to explore asteroid (16) Psyche, a metal-rich body orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, to advance understanding of planetary formation. This project supported that mission by determining power system requirements for rover mobility on Psyche. A range of solar array and battery configurations were evaluated through simulation, incorporating orbital dynamics, irradiance modeling, and energy storage analysis. The goal was to identify viable power solutions and highlight design constraints for sustained operation in Psyche’s extreme environment.

View Full Poster

This work was created in partial fulfillment of the Arizona State University Capstone Course “EEE 488/489‌”. The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.asu.edu). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.