EnergyDemonstration — lab/mission-tested

Solar Energy

Equatorial and low-latitude zones — usable globally but reduced by ~40-45% vs Earth

Dust-covered circular solar panel of the InSight lander on the reddish Martian surface — Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech (InSight)

Estimated Quantity

~590 W/m² at perihelion, ~493 W/m² at aphelion (vs Earth's 1,361 W/m²)

As of 2021-01-01

Location & ISRU Feasibility

Where

Global, latitude-dependent; best at equatorial/low latitudes (the favored crewed landing band)

Extraction feasibility

Moderate feasibility

Reaches every site but Mars receives only ~43% of Earth's flux (~590 W/m² at perihelion), and global dust storms plus panel dust make it unreliable for sustained crewed power — hence NASA's baseline is fission surface power.

Extraction technology

Photovoltaics are flight-proven on Mars (Spirit, Opportunity, InSight, Ingenuity); for crewed bases NASA is developing ~40 kWe fission surface power to avoid dust-storm vulnerability.

Overview

Mars receives 43-52% of Earth's solar flux due to greater distance (1.38-1.67 AU). Both Curiosity and Spirit solar panels suffered dramatic output reduction during dust storms. InSight's dust accumulation problem showed solar power is viable until regolith begins coating panels. For crewed missions NASA's current baseline is fission surface power (Kilopower/10 kWe reactors) rather than solar arrays, specifically to avoid dust storm vulnerabilities.

ISRU Application

Primary power source for landed assets without RTGs — Perseverance uses RTG while Ingenuity uses solar panels as test case; future crewed habitats must use nuclear fission (Kilopower/KRUSTY) or large solar arrays

Sources

[1] NASA (Fission Surface Power) — retrieved 2026-06-13
[2] NASA STMD Kilopower — retrieved 2026-06-01

Confidence: high · Last verified 2026-06-01

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