Assessment of Wind Energy Resource Potential for Future Human Missions to Mars

Abstract Future crewed missions to Mars will require sustained sources of energy, including solar, nuclear and wind energy. Using a state-of-the-art Mars general circulation model, we analyze the Martian wind potential and calculate its spatial and temporal variability. Here we show that wind speeds at several proposed landing sites are sufficiently fast to provide an alternative energy source, which could be particularly important at night, at middle to polar latitudes and during dust storms. Several regions show promising wind energy resource potential. These findings demonstrate that wind energy represents a valuable energy resource that compensates for diurnal and seasonal reductions in solar power and offers an opportunity for wind turbine technological advancement and engineering creativity with the aim of extracting more power from Mars winds.