NASA Ames Research Center
Extract from -RELEASE: 01-72AR

Wind turbines designed to make electricity at the South Pole and in remote regions of Alaska may someday lead to similar wind machines for Mars bases, according to NASA scientists.

During missions to Antarctica, where there are about six months of darkness each year, NASA scientists first seriously considered modifying cold-weather wind machines so they could make vital electric power for bases on Mars. One reason scientists proposed use of wind power on Mars is that wind turbines still could generate electricity during month-long martian global dust storms that can make days on the red planet as dark as night.

"Wind power and solar power may complement each other on Mars. When you have a large dust storm blocking the sunlight on Mars, a wind turbine can still generate electricity," said scientist David Bubenheim of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. "Only during dust storms on Mars is there enough wind energy to operate a wind turbine," said Michael Flynn, another NASA Ames scientist. On Earth about 10 meters (33 feet) per second wind speed is needed to make electricity with wind turbines; on Mars about 30 meters (98 feet) is needed because of the extremely thin air, according to Bubenheim.

"What we are proposing is a hybrid wind-solar system," Flynn said. "This system would use solar cells to generate electricity during sunny periods, and a wind turbine to make electricity during dust storms."

"We've looked at wind profiles based on atmospheric computer models of Mars," Bubenheim said. A scheme of complementary wind and solar power appears to be an option, he added.

More information is available on the NASA Ames research Website: