The ICN2 Nanostructured Materials for Photovoltaic Energy (NMPE) Group, led by CSIC Research Prof. Mónica Lira-Cantú, has reported an achievement in advancing solar energy technologies. In collaboration with the National University of Engineering (UNI) in Peru and NASA's High Altitude Student Platform (HASP), the researchers launched perovskite solar cells (PSCs) into the stratosphere to evaluate their stability and performance under extreme conditions.
The project was an collaboration. Kenedy Tabah Tanko, PhD student at ICN2, was responsible for fabricating and encapsulating the PSCs, under the supervision of Prof. Monica Lira-Cantu. Meanwhile, the payload, designed to measure the cells' performance in flight, was crafted by UNI students, under the supervision of Dr. Mónica Marcela Gómez. Finally, the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO) and the Louisiana Space Consortium (LaSPACE) provided the platform for the experiment, allowing the PSCs to be launched 36 km into the stratosphere from New Mexico, USA.
This spaceflight was designed to investigate the efficiency and durability of PSCs under conditions of high UV radiation and extreme temperatures (down to -30°C). Data collected during the flight will inform future innovations in PSC stability, particularly for space and high-altitude environments.
The launch represents an important step in understanding how PSCs respond to stratospheric stressors and offers promising insights into their potential as a lightweight, low-cost alternative to traditional III-V multijunction solar cells in space technology. It also highlights the potential of PSCs for space applications.
