20 November 2001 Nuna, the space age solar racing car from the Netherlands, is in the lead after day three of the World Solar Challenge, a 3000 km race right across Australia for cars powered by solar energy. Nuna is expected to cross the finish line on Wednesday 21 November.

The Alpha Centauri Team was slow to get underway, but having set off from eleventh place on the starting grid, they were soon working their way up the field. Nuna took the lead just before the first control post, having passed main contenders Aurora, Solar Motions and M-Pulse. Nuna covered a total distance of 728 km on the first race day, travelling at an average speed of 91 km/h.

On the second race day the skies were clear, but a strong wind meant a tactical decision was made not to race at top speed. The Australian solar car, Aurora, soon passed the Alpha-Centauri Team quickly stretching their lead to 30 km. Later in the day, around 16:00, Aurora was once again in sight and Nuna re-took the lead. By the end of day two Nuna had a lead of 12.6 km over Aurora. M-Pulse lay in third place at 58 km and Solar Motions in fourth at 91 km.

Day three of the race saw the Nuna vehicle maintain pole position in the race to reach Adelaide. Having travelled a total distance of 2100 km, the finish line is just 830 km away. The closest rival car, Aurora, is just 15 km behind Nuna, although third-placed M-Pulse is now trailing by more than an hour.

For a personal account, read
the Alpha Centauri team's race diary »»»

ESA PR 64-2001 13 November
On 18 November, 43 racing cars will be jostling for position at the start of the 6th World Solar Challenge in Darwin, Australia. Among them, a slick student-built machine that profits from space technology, supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA). The Alpha Centauri team and their car Nuna are amongst the favourites.

Unlike Formula-1 races, this start will produce very little noise and smoke since all cars are solar powered. The World Solar Challenge is intended to motivate research and development into harnessing solar energy for future transport needs. It covers 3010 km from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south of Australia, a distance the Alpha Centauri Team hopes to cover in a record time of just four days.

The streamlined machine is built by eight Dutch students from the universities of Delft and Amsterdam. It uses advanced space technology, provided to the team via ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme, enabling the car to reach a theoretical top speed of over 160 km per hour.  
 

Nuna vehicle with the Alpha Centauri Team

The aerodynamically optimized outer shell consists of space-age plastics to keep it light and strong. The main body is made from carbon fibre, reinforced with Kevlar, a material used in satellites, but nowadays also in high performance equipment like bulletproof vests.

The car’s shell is covered with the best dual junction and triple junction gallium-arsenide solar cells, developed for satellites. These cells have an efficiency of about 24%. ESA will test these cells in space in early 2003, when the technology-demonstrating SMART-1 mission is launched to the Moon.

Nuna also carries Maximum Power Point Trackers, small devices that guarantee an optimal balance between power from the battery and the solar cells, even in less favourable situations like shade and cloud. Many satellites carry these devices, for instance ESA's Rosetta mission to comet Wirtanen.
 
 

Solar panels from the Hubble Space Telescope

A small strip of solar cells on the side of the car is very special for a different reason: the communication equipment is powered by a strip of cells that originally belonged to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. These cells were part of a large solar array, retrieved by ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier and brought back to Earth in 1993 with a Space Shuttle. They have been donated to the Alpha Centauri Team as a special mascot.

“If Nuna wins the race, it will be due in part to the use of space technology” explained Ramon Martinez, a mechanical engineering student at the Technical University of Delft and leader of the Alpha Centauri Team. But much more important, due to the hard work and dedication of a group of students, making a dream come true!”

To fulfil their mission, the student team has collected an impressive line-up of supporters. ESA not only provided them with engineering support via its Technology Transfer Programme but also with general support via the Education Office, headed by former ESA astronaut Wubbo Ockels, who is also adviser to the team. Dutch energy company Nuon is the main sponsor, and the association of plastic producers APME and the Technical University of Delft are strongly supporting the team.

After the mission an extensive tour is planned to visit schools in the Member States of ESA. This educational programme will emphasize the value of space technology for a more sustainable world and show in a tangible manner how the dreams of youngsters can become reality.