{"id":228828,"date":"2025-05-08T07:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T11:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=228828"},"modified":"2025-05-07T15:55:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T19:55:49","slug":"could-newly-designed-microgrids-be-the-way-back-to-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/05\/could-newly-designed-microgrids-be-the-way-back-to-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Newly Designed Microgrids be the Way Back to the Moon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A microgrid is a localized electrical grid that can operate independently as a single, controllable entity, improving energy reliability and resilience. They support the vital electrical loads that make it possible for humans to live and work in a deep space habitat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When talking about the research being conducted by the Resilient Extra-Terrestrial Habitats (RETH) institute, microgrids are being heavily tested to determine if they are reliable enough to combat the extreme atmospheric conditions on the moon and support critical electrical loads.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ali Bazzi, Madonna Professor of Power Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UConn, is the local PI for the Purdue-led research project. Bazzi, along with three other engineering professors, Ashwin Dani, Song Han, and Jiong Tang, are leading the charge, researching power systems, robotics, communications, and structural health monitoring, respectively. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWorking on this project is extremely important to us,\u201d Bazzi says, \u201cnot only have we been able to contribute to this groundbreaking research, we have also been able to increase our research and testing capabilities, making it easier for us to form relationships and collaborate with different companies in Connecticut and nationally.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the latest findings, the research team at UConn has proposed the idea of implementing a new power architecture. For the habitats to be safe to live and work in, they require a reliable power source. Bazzi and his team, recent electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. graduate Leila Chebbo and Ph.D. student Hasnain Nisar, have been testing and analyzing a newly designed microgrid which has an extended lifespan and the capability to combat different disturbances, like meteor strikes. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Hardware of the time-sensitive network for communication between various sensors, power converters, solar emulator, and habitat simulator. (Photo by Hasnain Nisar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The microgrids used in the habitats need to be able to sustain different systems and electrical loads, from environmental control and life support systems to communication systems and scientific instruments and laboratories. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Bazzi, you can think of a microgrid like adding a solar panel or generator to your house, \u201cYour house, for example, has electrical loads like your dryer or stove, and your generator or backup generator has barely enough power to cover that. If you add any bigger electrical loads on, then things could go out of control.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of supporting critical electrical loads, the microgrid also needs to be resilient to the conditions of space. The moon has a very thin atmosphere. There is no protection from cosmic or solar radiation and the temperature varies widely on different parts of the moon, with some areas extremely cold and others extremely hot. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMoon dust is not the typical Earth dust, it\u2019s much finer and sticky,\u201d said Bazzi. \u201cGetting rid of moon dust if it covers a solar panel or gets into electronic equipment is very difficult. Everything needs to be sealed tightly to prevent premature degradation, and solar panels need to be cleaned regularly.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meteor strikes are also a cause for concern, as they can cause extensive damage. Lastly, the moon has moonquakes, which are generally lower in magnitude but longer lasting than the earthquakes we experience on Earth. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn Engineering has the capabilities and expertise to perform necessary testing and analysis of the microgrids and other equipment that would be used in the habitat.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To test how equipment behaves under varying temperatures, it\u2019s put into a test chamber where a defined ambient temperature is set, and the equipment is used as it would be in space.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Testing how electrical equipment would behave in the presence of moon dust requires researchers to emulate the consistency of the moon dust using samples from previous moon missions. This test allows the researchers to ensure the equipment is sealed properly. This is an area where UConn Engineering research can expand, Bazzi said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Radiation testing involves putting equipment under different types of radiation that mimic cosmic and solar radiation. It is vital because if equipment is not made of materials that can handle radiation, the equipment will degrade over time. The radiation can also interfere with the behavior of the electronic boards, causing problems with transmitted electrical signals. This is another area where UConn research can expand, according to Bazzi.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"An
Variable frequency drives that control an air compressor (shown) and a heating pad (not shown) to establish specific pressure and temperature settings in the steel pressure box that emulates a space habitat structure as part of the UConn testbed. (Photo by Hasnain Nisar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cyber-physical testbed on the Depot Campus has the capability to test the integration of microgrids, communication systems, robotics, and structural health monitoring for lunar and other space habitats. Graduate students involved with the testbed include Chebbo and Nisar, in addition to Jiachen Wang and Chuanyu Xue (School of Computing), Yang Zhang (School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering), and Vrithik Guthikonda (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith our extensive capabilities and expertise available, we can work with other teams or companies to develop and test new technologies and algorithms for this project,\u201d Bazzi said. \u201cIf someone develops a technology that\u2019s going into a space habitat, we want to develop it with them, especially if it falls under one of our areas of expertise.\u00a0 We are happy to test models or hardware on our testbed to see how it behaves in this environment.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To find out more about working with the RETH Institute team, please reach out to Ali Bazzi, via email.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The RETH Institute team has proposed newly designed microgrids to combat the extreme atmospheric conditions of the moon and support the operation of deep space habitats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":228871,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,2460,2076,2235],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2646],"class_list":["post-228828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-faculty","category-research","category-today-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 02:23:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228828"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229982,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228828\/revisions\/229982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/228871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228828"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=228828"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=228828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}