Space exploration and non Earth-based planetary settlements are becoming a reality for the Artemis generation. NASA and private space contractors are busy creating and testing designs for both Lunar and Martian habitats and support systems. In order to successfully establish viable and sustainable outposts on any planet or moon, we will have to make use of available local resources. To this end, we cannot pollute or contaminate any resources as we have done on Earth. Therefore the problem we are addressing is that space travel and proposed lunar/inner planetary colonization will require easy to produce, non toxic energy production in the form of sustainable dye sensitized solar cells. The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether or not dye sensitized solar cells can function when exposed to radiation in a space environment. 

 

Our theory is that dye sensitized solar cells can be used to supply natural, non toxic energy production in space exploration and habitation, even at a reduced capacity. In order to prove the viability of the dye sensitized solar cells, we must determine whether the organic components, specifically the anthocyanin, will be affected by space radiation to the point of minimum viability. 

 

Due to the organic nature of the anthocyanin, there is a concern that exposure to space radiation could result in the stripping of electrons from the catalyst material, anthocyanin, rendering it useless to produce the electron needed for energy production. For a dye sensitized solar cell to work, the anthocyanin must be able to release an electron when light in the form of photons strikes and excites it. However space radiation, not normally a concern on earth due to the protective ozone layer and magnetosphere, can have detrimental effects to organic materials when exposed in the stratosphere. Sending a mini sample of a dye sensitized solar cell up on a high altitude balloon will expose it to light (photons) and space radiation, which will help us to determine if dye sensitized solar panels can be effective in space exploration and habitation.

We hypothesize that if the dependent variable, the energy output of the dye sensitized solar cell, is exposed to the independent variable of space radiation, then the energy output will be reduced due to the chemical deterioration of the organic material, anthocyanin. The amount of reduced efficiency will determine the viability of dye sensitized solar cells for use in space.