Adaptive radiation- and plasma-resilient power electronics for deep-space applications

Space missions expose spacecraft electronics to complex space environments, including charged particle fluxes, solar wind plasma, and high-energy radiation, which can induce surface charging, electrostatic discharges (ESD), and single-event upsets (SEUs) in power conversion systems. Traditional mitigation strategies, such as radiation-hardened components and shielding, offer partial protection but incur significant mass and efficiency penalties and do not address transient plasma-induced disturbances. This study presents a physics-informed, plasma-resilient design methodology for DC–DC converters in deep-space applications. A comprehensive space-environment simulation framework is developed to model heliocentric plasma density, solar wind velocity, proton energy spectra, and surface charging, incorporating both low- and high-frequency fluctuations. Building on this, a radiation-aware, adaptive DC–DC converter topology is proposed, coupled with a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) architecture and disturbance observer, enabling real-time mitigation of plasma-induced voltage fluctuations, SEU step events, and input ripple. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach maintains the output voltage close to the nominal value under the considered space-environment disturbances. The adaptive controller reduces the RMS voltage error from approximately 10.3–12.6 V in the uncontrolled system to approximately 1.86–1.91 V across the investigated operating scenarios while significantly suppressing transient deviations caused by plasma fluctuations and SEU events. Frequency-domain analysis confirms effective attenuation of low-frequency plasma-induced transients, while Lyapunov-based stability proofs ensure guaranteed closed-loop robustness. The integrated methodology enables reliable, efficient, and adaptive energy management for long-duration space missions, highlighting the importance of environment-aware hardware-control co-design for future deep-space spacecraft. © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.