{"id":36067,"date":"2023-01-19T19:41:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T20:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=36067"},"modified":"2023-01-19T21:40:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T21:40:28","slug":"exploring-the-outer-solar-system-takes-power-heres-a-way-to-miniaturize-nuclear-batteries-for-deep-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2023\/01\/19\/exploring-the-outer-solar-system-takes-power-heres-a-way-to-miniaturize-nuclear-batteries-for-deep-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Outer Solar System Takes Power, Here\u2019s a Way to Miniaturize Nuclear Batteries for Deep Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

As science and technology advance, we\u2019re asking our space missions to deliver more and more results. NASA\u2019s MSL Curiosity and Perseverance rovers illustrate this fact. Perseverance is an exceptionally exquisite assemblage of technologies. These cutting-edge rovers need a lot of power to fulfill their tasks, and that means bulky and expensive power sources. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Space exploration is an increasingly energy-hungry endeavour. Orbiters and fly-by missions can perform their tasks using solar power, at least as far out as Jupiter. And ion drives can take spacecraft to more distant regions. But to really understand distant worlds like the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or even the more distant Pluto, we\u2019ll need to eventually land a rover and\/or lander on them just as we have on Mars. <\/p>\n

Those missions require more power to operate, and that usually means MMRTGs (Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators.)<\/a> But they\u2019re bulky, heavy, and expensive, three undesirable traits for spacecraft. Each one costs over $100 million. Is there a better solution?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
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Stephen Polly thinks there is. <\/p>\n

Polly is a research scientist at the NanoPower Research Laboratories at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His work focuses on something most of us have likely never heard of: the development, growth, characterization, and integration of III-V materials by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE).<\/p>\n

While that sounds complicated to non-specialists, space enthusiasts can easily relate to the idea that all his work has led to: a potentially new way to power space missions. <\/p>\n

Polly is working on what could be a revolutionary way to power spacecraft on long journeys to the outer planets. It\u2019s called a thermoradiative cell (TRC), and it\u2019s similar to an MMRTG. It uses a radioisotope<\/a> as its power source. <\/p>\n

Polly relies on a technology called Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy<\/a> (MOVPE.) It uses chemical vapours to produce thin polycrystalline films. It\u2019s an industrial process used in optoelectronics to make things like light-emitting diodes (LEDs.) Polly\u2019s work uses MOVPE to create thermoradiative cells (TRCs.) <\/p>\n

\n
\n[embedded content]<\/span>\n<\/div>
This video gives a nice clear explanation of MOVPE. Credit: Chemical Vapor Deposition: Basic Function \u2013 Nanotechnology: A Maker\u2019s Course<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TRCs use a radioisotope as MMRTGs do and are based on heat from radioactive decay, but there\u2019s a difference. The decay heats up the TRC, which then emits light. The light then reaches a photovoltaic cell, which in turn produces electricity. It\u2019s kind of like a combination between an MMRTG and solar power. <\/p>\n

But Polly\u2019s idea is much smaller, and that\u2019s a holy grail in spacecraft engineering. \u201cThis device, driven by a radioisotope heat source, will allow an order of magnitude increase in mass-specific power (~30 vs ~3 W\/kg) and a three orders of magnitude decrease in volume (~0.2 vs ~212 L) as compared to a conventional multi-mission radioisotope thermal generator (MMRTG),\u201d Polly explained in a brief press release<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Polly writes that these devices could help revolutionize our space exploration activities. It could lead to a proliferation of smaller spacecraft that don\u2019t need to unfurl large solar arrays or carry bulky, heavy MMRTGs. Technological advances continuously shrink scientific payloads, so if the power source can shrink alongside them, CubeSats could become much more useful. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis will directly enable small-sat missions to the outer planets as well as operations in permanent shadows such as polar lunar craters,\u201d Polly explains. The first use of the technology could be on a mission to Uranus. \u201cWe will analyze a thermoradiative converter to power a CubeSat (or fleet of CubeSats) that can ride along with a Flagship Uranus mission<\/a>, doing such tasks as serving as information relay for atmospheric probes, and getting a parallax view of the planet and moons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Polly's
Polly\u2019s thermoradiative cell concept could change the way we approach space exploration, allowing us to employ smaller, more versatile spacecraft like CubeSats. Image Credit: Stephen Polly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We\u2019re all along for the ride\u2014or at least our intellects and imaginations are\u2014when we send spacecraft out into the Solar System to explore nature. If Polly\u2019s work comes to fruition, and spacecraft can be built with smaller, more effective energy sources, the ride will get even more interesting. <\/p>\n

Polly\u2019s idea is a Phase One Selection in NIAC, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program. He\u2019s received funding to develop the idea further. <\/p>\n

More:<\/h2>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As science and technology advance, we\u2019re asking our space missions to deliver more and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36067"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36075,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36067\/revisions\/36075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}