| Abstract | In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for space missions around the world, and the need for research has been equally high. Given that one of the main purposes is to develop various resources such as rare earths and tritium, such as the Artemis project, research on manned habitat is essential for development. Furthermore, establishment of the long-term manned lunar habitation can be beneficial for the extensive scientific research. With the establishment of the lunar habitation, a significant challenge exists in the extreme temperature variation on the lunar surface, ranging from 90 K to 390 K. However, this temperature contrast presents not only challenge but also an opportunity for energy generation through Thermoelectric Generators (TEG). TEG, known for their adaptability to varying temperatures, can utilize this temperature gradient as a passive power source. In addition, the characteristics of the TEG, which its efficiency increases significantly along the increase of both temperature gap and the temperature itself, offers additional advantages for lunar energy harvesting introduced with TEGs. Furthermore, basic mechanism of the TEG does not contains moving components, making them reliable in harsh lunar conditions, including issues related to lunar dust. Moreover, TEGs can be applied for the independent wireless sensor networks, which enables to avoid maintenance risk due to the damage. This paper aims to evaluate the suitability of TEGs for lunar habitation by examining their performance under lunar environmental conditions. Concepts of the TEG is introduced with the present findings, and detailed setup for the measurement experiment is presented as well. Experiment is conducted with imitated lunar surface environment, and thermal characteristics of the TEG is measured. The result demonstrated improved TEG efficiency with greater temperature gradients, especially in cooling conditions, highlighting their potential for passive energy harvesting on the Moon. Future research should be conducted on system design through simulations and chamber experiments to advance passive energy harvesting on the Moon. |
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