Autonomous Isolated Power Conversion Architecture for Lunar and Mars Resource Extraction Robots

Autonomous robotic systems designed for extraterrestrial in situ resource utilization (ISRU) will play a central role in enabling a sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars. These robots are expected to perform tasks such as regolith excavation, water extraction, oxygen production, and propellant generation under extremely harsh environmental conditions, including large temperature variations, abrasive dust, high radiation levels, and significant communication delays with Earth. Consequently, their onboard electrical systems must operate with high reliability, autonomy, and fault tolerance. A critical enabling technology for these systems is the isolated power conversion architecture, which distributes energy from primary power sources to multiple robotic subsystems, including mobility actuators, drilling systems, sensors, computing units, and thermal management modules. Future lunar and Martian missions are expected to rely on a combination of alternative energy sources, including solar photovoltaic arrays with energy storage, fuel cells, radioisotope power systems, and nuclear surface power reactors, which can provide continuous and high-density energy independent of sunlight availability. These diverse power sources require flexible and highly efficient isolated DC–DC power conversion architectures capable of managing wide input voltage ranges while ensuring electrical isolation, safety, and system stability across distributed robotic platforms. This literature review surveys recent developments in autonomous isolated power conversion architectures suitable for lunar and Martian resource extraction robots. The review examines advanced converter topologies such as resonant converters, phase-shifted full-bridge converters, dual-active bridge converters, and modular multiport power converters designed for high efficiency, high power density, and scalable power distribution. Emphasis is placed on converter architectures capable of interfacing with nuclear-powered systems and other high-energy-density sources while supporting distributed loads in robotic mining and processing systems. In addition, the paper reviews emerging autonomous control strategies, including adaptive digital control, intelligent power management, fault detection and self-recovery mechanisms, and distributed power architectures capable of maintaining stable operation under dynamic load conditions. The role of wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies, including silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), is also examined, highlighting their potential to enable higher switching frequencies, improved efficiency, reduced system mass, and enhanced thermal performance in vacuum environments. Finally, system-level considerations for integrating isolated power conversion within robotic ISRU platforms are discussed, including redundancy strategies, power bus architectures, electromagnetic compatibility, thermal management, and long-duration reliability requirements. By consolidating advances across power electronics, autonomous control, and space power systems, this review identifies key research gaps and outlines design directions for next-generation autonomous power conversion systems capable of supporting scalable lunar and Martian resource extraction infrastructures powered by both renewable and nuclear energy sources.