Sparkwing solar panels from Airbus to power lunar mission of Masten

Today, Airbus announced that its Sparkwing solar panels were selected by USA-based Masten Space Systems for their XL-1 lunar lander. In 2023, the XL-1 spacecraft will land at the lunar South Pole as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

XL-1 will be equipped with six body-mounted Sparkwing solar panels, to be delivered next year, to charge the vehicle’s power system during transition to the Moon as well as during operations on the Moon’s surface.

The Sparkwing solar panels from Airbus are the world’s first commercially available off-the shelf option for small spacecraft. Plugging 3D models of standard Sparkwing components into the spacecraft design allowed for a speedy evaluation on where to place items and where it would need customization to meet the specific needs of Masten Mission 1.

This led to a XL-1 specific design derivative of the Sparkwing catalogue product, with increased panel sizing and cut-outs on both long edges of the panel to accommodate the landing legs of the spacecraft. Each solar panel has 320 solar cells, with 3G30 space-grade solar cells provided by Azur Space.

Building on over fifty years of experience in developing solar arrays, Airbus uses a “mix and match” approach of combining standard components with specific adaptations where needed for the Sparkwing solar panels.

“The Sparkwing team have been a delight to work with,” said Alison Dufresne, lunar engineering manager at Masten Space Systems.

“They provide high quality end to end services including design, analysis and testing. With their previous experiences with missions like ExoMars, Rosetta and Galileo, we were confident that they were the right choice for our mission. Masten Mission 1 will be the first of many Masten missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”

For Masten Mission 1, XL-1 will deliver payloads to the Moon’s South Pole to assess the composition of the lunar surface, detect volatiles such as water, methane, and carbon dioxide, and evaluate radiation in advance of human missions.

“Masten is working with us on this amazing mission with a pragmatic ‘get it done’ mindset. Our technology, which was originally developed for low-earth orbits, now finds its way to this lunar exploration mission”, said Marloes van Put, Sparkwing program manager at Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands.

Thanks for being here;

We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook – our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don’t have a paywall – with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Contributor

$5 Billed Once
credit card or paypal

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly
paypal only

Singapore inaugurates new floating solar farm to meet energy needs

Washington DC (UPI) Jul 15, 2021

Singapore launched a 45-hectare solar farm that is expected to supply at least five local water treatment plants in the country and reduce carbon emissions in line with the country’s Green Plan.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Wednesday at the opening ceremony that the 60-megawatt Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm was a critical step forward for Singapore in environmentally sustainable water treatment, Channel News Asia reported.

“Innovations such as floating solar farms will help us o … read more