Here on Earth, solar power is one of the ultimate sources of off-grid electricity. Unless you're in the far north and don't get sunlight half the year or you're somewhere that's frequently cloudy, it's a
Here on Earth, solar power is one of the ultimate sources of off-grid electricity. Unless you’re in the far north and don’t get sunlight half the year or you’re somewhere that’s frequently cloudy, it’s a very dependable source of electricity that can be used to charge batteries and power everything from a phone, to a small refrigerator ice chest, to a whole house or EV. So, it’s a great alternative.
So, solar or forms of nuclear energy are about your only choice. When it comes to nuclear power, the only choice for small probes is a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator . These aren’t a typical nuclear reactor, but do use heat shed by radioactive materials to make a few hundred watts of electricity and run spacecraft sensors and radios.
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is pretty much an ideal fit for using solar panels instead of an RTG. It’s going to spend the next few years working up energy making loops around Earth, and then fly off toward the orbit of Jupiter where gravity has collected up a bunch of very ancient asteroids both in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit . Along its route, it will get images of several asteroids, including one pair of them that might have originally come from the outer solar system.
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