NASA’s Perseverance rover destined for Mars next week has completed another step in preparation for launch: installation and activation of its nuclear power source.
“The #MarsPerseverance MMRTG [multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator] It is installed and working fine. This red planet dune buggy is powered and ready to go! Tory Bruno, CEO of launch provider ULA, wrote via Twitter on Wednesday. She further clarified what this process means in response to a question about the power source. “RTGs [radioisotope thermoelectric generators] they are ‘activated’ at the time of mounting because the radio source continuously generates heat that solid-state thermoelectric devices convert to voltage. ”
While nuclear power may be in the midst of an ongoing debate on Earth, it is an essential and often used source of energy for off-planet exploration. The decomposition of plutonium-238 provides the type of nuclear energy that is used for perseverance. This process generates heat that is converted into a 110 W source of electricity to charge the mobile’s two lithium-ion batteries. It will provide a 14-year lifespan, though the rover’s mission is slated to last less than two years.
NASA Perseverance Rover and Depicted Helicopter on Mars. The | Credit: NASA / JPL
The Helicopter ingenuity that will accompany NASA’s new Mars Perseverence rover. The | Credit: NASA / JPL
Where the MMRTG nuclear power source for NASA’s new Mars rover will be located. The | Credit: NASA / JPL
The MMRTG nuclear power source for NASA’s new Mars rover. The | Credit: NASA / JPL
One of the most unique features of the Perseverance mission is a companion that will fly on the surface of the red planet: the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. If successful, Ingenuity will be the first controlled airplane flight attempt off Earth.
These are great shoes to fill for such a small robot, the helicopter weighs only around 4 pounds with a softball ball-sized body, but it can open up a whole new world of experimental possibilities. NASA also has plans to explore Saturn’s moon Titan using a similar helicopter on a future mission.
Another experiment aboard NASA’s latest rover that is directly related to future human exploration is MOXIE (Mars In Situ Oxygen Resource Utilization Experiment). As the description may indicate, this technology demonstration will produce oxygen using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars. It’s a concept that has been put forward by both Martian housing advocates and science fiction writers, and now the idea is set to undergo real (really real) world testing.
Perseverance is scheduled to launch on July 30 and will take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. About two weeks ago, the rover was encapsulated within the payload fairing of the Atlas V 541 rocket that will take it into space to begin its seven-month journey to Mars. Once there, Perseverance will use its specialized instruments on board, including 19 cameras, to look for signs of habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life.
