A Static Thermoelectric Backup Generator for Mars Night and Storm Survival Loads: Seebeck Conversion Sizing

This paper presents a sized design for a Mars surface system based on static Seebeck thermoelectric conversion from a radioisotope-free heated block using reactor waste heat as the hot source. A solid-state thermoelectric unit with no moving parts that covers survival loads when dynamic convertors are offline. The study is SIMULATED, NOT MEASURED: all values are computed from stated assumptions and published Martian environmental data, and no hardware was built or tested. The principal computed results are hot side K of 820, cold side K of 320, figure of merit ZT of 1.1, carnot limit of 0.61. Further results include conversion efficiency of 0.1489, heat input W of 4200, electric power W of 625.3, waste heat W of 3574.7. The design is a computed study for peaceful surface operations — power supply, thermal control, radiation protection, construction and resource extraction for a crewed base — and it has no targeting or weapon application. Losses, deratings for dust and temperature, and the margin between capacity and the stated load are reported alongside the headline figures, and the limitations section states what a physical test would still need to establish.