Thermal Sensor Network
Distributed Temperature and Heat Flux Sensor Array
The distributed temperature and heat flux sensor array is a network of platinum resistance thermometers, thermocouples, and heat flux transducers positioned across settlement thermal zones to provide control feedback and health monitoring. In lunar applications, the array must operate across an extreme span from -196 °C to +300 °C, requiring zone-specific sensor selections such as Pt100 RTDs and Type K or T thermocouples. Instrumentation faces severe environmental hurdles, including sensor calibration drift over decades of operation, cumulative radiation damage that limits the operating life of semiconductor diodes, and the substantial wiring harness mass incurred by routing hundreds of redundant sensor channels.
Network of temperature sensors across all Ark thermal zones providing control feedback
Purpose
Measure temperatures at all critical locations for thermal control and health monitoring
Context
Child of L2-TCS-CTRL in the Active Thermal Control System
Principles
- ▸Platinum RTDs (Pt100/Pt1000) provide accurate stable temperature measurement
- ▸Thermocouples (Type K, Type T) for high-temperature and cryogenic applications
- ▸Heat flux sensors measure actual heat flow for thermal model validation
- ▸Redundant sensors at critical locations enable voting and fault detection
Typical implementations
- ▸Lakeshore Cryotronics cryogenic temperature sensors
- ▸Heraeus Pt100 RTD sensors (space heritage)
- ▸ISS thermal sensor network (~500 sensors)
Lunar considerations
- ▸Sensor calibration drift over decades requires self-calibration or redundancy
- ▸Wide temperature range (-196C to +300C) requires different sensor types per zone
- ▸Radiation damage to semiconductor sensors (diodes) limits their useful life
- ▸Wiring from hundreds of sensors creates significant harness mass
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Network of temperature sensors across all Ark thermal zones providing control feedback |
Physical
| materials | Pt100 RTD elements, Type T thermocouples, Silicon diode sensors (cryogenic), Heat flux transducers |
Interfaces
Provides
- Temperature measurements from all thermal zones
Requires
- Sensor excitation power (~5W total)
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Thermal Sensor Network" (L3-TCS-CTRL-SENS). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-TCS-CTRL-SENS
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.