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How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

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Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#11

Post by rdtsc »

kalleboo wrote: post #5
dkkarthik wrote: post #2

Wow, that's super cool. I wonder if this technology is being used on any earth-based applications? If not, I'm assuming there are harmful side effects that don't necessarily affect the space missions. I'd like to learn more about the negatives of this technology basically.

If this is the same tech I remember, Soviet Russia used them a lot for far-flung lighthouses that couldn't be easily refueled. Many of them are still out there, or have been stolen, vandalized, stripped of metal by unwitting thieves, spreading hazard all around. One was even found underwater. edit: links: http://bellona.no/bellona.org/english_import_area/internatio... http://englishrussia.com/2009/01/06/abandoned-rus…

There is a movie on Netflix streaming that has some small plot feature tied to one of these these nuclear batteries in a far North Russian weather station:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588875/

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#13

Post by joaorj »

this article is wrong on many things.

one being that the rover can drive during night.

the small power output of the "nuclear battery" is not used to drive the rover. it used to recharge batteries during day and night so that the rover can operate on the batteries during the day.

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#14

Post by juiceandjuice »

DennisP wrote: post #12

NASA has almost run out of U238: http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/20... People promoting liquid thorium reactors have been pointing out that they could supply it: http://flibe-energy.com/products/

Plutonium 238 is NOT Uranium 238.

There's shitloads of U238 in the world.

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#15

Post by Erifcit »

grecy wrote: post #10

Many people here in the far north have extensive solar setups and live completely off-grid. Unfortunately in winter, we only get ~4 hours of sunlight, and it's a pain to sweep snow off the panels every day at ~ -30C to -40C We don't get much wind, and rivers are only liquid for ~4-5 months, so wind and hydro are not popular. I've been investigating commercial thermoelectric couplings as a source in the winter. Everyo…

This might interest you. http://www.biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features...

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#16

Post by aakil »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #9
aakil wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's probably a radiation issue that wouldn't make it suitable for close to human contact. I wonder how much energy the rover needs to move around since the gravity there is considerably weaker.

Rover mass is same on Earth or Mars. So acceleration costs the same. Low gravity also means less friction with the ground, making it somewhat harder to move on Mars. Climbing hills would be easier on Mars.

Isn't there also an issue of impulse though? There must be an acceleration dip compared to earth since I'm basically pushing a mini cooper on earth but only a bicycle on mars. Note: I'm a scientist so I'm embarrassingly bad at physics.

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#17

Post by ceejayoz »

shabble wrote: post #7
dkkarthik wrote: post #2

Wow, that's super cool. I wonder if this technology is being used on any earth-based applications? If not, I'm assuming there are harmful side effects that don't necessarily affect the space missions. I'd like to learn more about the negatives of this technology basically.

For a short while they were used in implantable pacemakers as 'lifetime' power sources[1] The main issue is that they're really rather inefficient. The efficiency of the thermocouple at converting thermal->electrical is only about 5-10%, and combined with the cost of shielding, expense of the radioisotope to begin with, and security/safety considerations, they're really only suitable for niche aerospace/defense appli…

The bigger issue using it in pacemakers is it's actually beneficial to have a battery that needs replacing every 10 years or so - pacemaker tech gets better so fast that a 30 year old device would be crap compared to the current generation.

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#18

Post by adrr »

DennisP wrote: post #12

NASA has almost run out of U238: http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-amp-space/article/20... People promoting liquid thorium reactors have been pointing out that they could supply it: http://flibe-energy.com/products/

There's Pu238 in our nuclear fuel rods, we aren't allowed to reprocess spent fuel to extract it.

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#19

Post by andre »

Relevant: INL helps power mission to Mars http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/08/06/2219647/inl-helps-p...

"In simple terms, Curiosity runs, in part, on a $100 million nuclear battery developed at the lab, said Stephen Johnson, division director of Space Nuclear Systems and Technology.

The 2-foot-tall, 2-foot in diameter cylinder aboard Curiosity is packed with radioactive isotopes generating heat. That thermal energy is converted into the electricity fueling Curiosity's wheels, arms and other gadgets, as well as recharging its bank of lithium-ion batteries."

"Fuel cells in the energy source are 1 inch tall and 1-inch diameter cylinders. Each puts out a mind-boggling 9,000 to 10,000 degrees of heat, shift supervisor Dave Hendricks said."

Re: How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

#20

Post by boredguy8 »

grecy wrote: post #10

Many people here in the far north have extensive solar setups and live completely off-grid. Unfortunately in winter, we only get ~4 hours of sunlight, and it's a pain to sweep snow off the panels every day at ~ -30C to -40C We don't get much wind, and rivers are only liquid for ~4-5 months, so wind and hydro are not popular. I've been investigating commercial thermoelectric couplings as a source in the winter. Everyo…

Piqued your interest, just as an aside
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