A UNSW solar PhD and academic will be the first female commander of a NASA-funded Mars mission simulation, that will be powered by renewables.
Solar PV expert Martha Lenio has been selected as leader of five other “astronaut-like crew members,” who will live for eight months in a solar-powered dome located in an abandoned quarry on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii.
The two-storey Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) structure will have living spaces and a lab, and a single porthole offering a view over the surrounding Mars-like terrain. An adjoining workshop will be housed in a shipping container.
The official purpose of the mission is to study the group’s cohesiveness over the eight months of simulated space travel. But for Lenio – who is currently setting up her own renewables consulting and smart grid design company – the focus will be elsewhere.
“The dome runs off photovoltaics and a hydrogen fuel cell, with a battery bank for energy storage,” said Lenio, who has described the mission as an “extreme” merging of her interests in space and green energy “into one incredibly awesome job”.
Lenio – who was born and raised in Ontario, Canada – is a mechanical engineer who earned her PhD in photovoltaic engineering from the UNSW in 2013. She has worked in sustainable building and the photovoltaics industry, and is currently starting up her own renewable energy consulting firm.
“Between my PhD interest in solar and now being a certified installer, I’m really looking forward to working with the system there.
“I also want to do an energy and water audit of the dome, and find ways to improve the efficiency — and that’s just the fun stuff I want to do.”
Lenio will also research indoor gardening techniques using LED lights, and hopes the dome will adopt composting to reduce its waste.
“All of these projects draw on things that I’ve learned throughout both my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, as well as my PhD in photovoltaic engineering, and for me that’s terribly exciting,” she said.
Lenio completed her doctorate in 2013 under the supervision of world renowned Australian solar guru, Stuart Wenham – the Scientia Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence at UNSW and CTO of Suntech-Power Co, one of the world’s largest PV manufacturers.
In January, Wenham and his UNSW team was awarded the AF Harvey Engineering Research Prize from the Institution of Engineering and Technology, including $560,000 in prize money to go towards future research.
The award recognised the discovery by Professor Wenham and his team of a mechanism to control the charge state of hydrogen atoms to correct deficiencies in silicon – the most costly part of a solar cell.
“Our patented advanced hydrogenation technology will allow lower-quality silicon to outperform solar cells made from better quality materials, producing higher efficiencies at significantly lower cost,” said Wenham.
For Lenio, the upcoming NASA mission – it is 14 days until “lock-down” – will draw on a range of different skills.
“The HI-SEAS site presents a remarkably high-fidelity environment for this type of long-duration space study,” said UH Mānoa’s Kim Binsted, the principal investigator for the study.
“Looking out the single porthole window, all you can see are lava fields and Maunakea in the distance. Once the door is closed, and the faux airlock sealed, the silence and physical separation contribute to the ‘long way from home’ experience of our crew members.”
For now, though, Lenio is preparing for the experience.
“There’s been a lot of paper work — visas, insurance, setting up banking for eight months,” she said.
“At the moment, I am getting together experimental equipment, specialty foods for periodic little celebrations throughout the year, putting together books and artistic outlets, such as paint and knitting supplies, downloading music and movies.”
Joining Lenio on the mission will be: Allen Mirkadyrov (NASA, aeronautical engineer), Sophie Milam (robotics engineer), Neil Sheibelhut (biology graduate and former US Defence Force medic who served in Iraq), Jocelyn Dunn (biomedical and aerospace engineer – who will be blogging about her “Mars” experience at fivestarview.blogspot.com), and Zak Wilson (mechanical engineer).
