My only concern would be the fact of placing nuclear materials into space and on another another planet. It is scary to think of the nuclear waste
that is around on earth. Governments have great problems trying to get rid of now, let alone have it on another planet to cause problems in the
future.
Golf Carts Today, Mini-Van In 2009?(NuclearPowered), page 1
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Topic started on 19-1-2004 @ 02:26 AM by MarkLuitzen
If you think the Mars rovers are interesting, wait until you see a mini-van clambering over the planet's red rocks and dusty lake beds. The two
golf-cart size rovers that are mesmerizing the country now are preparing the way for a 2009 mission to Mars called the Mars Scientific Laboratory,
says William Hiscock, head of the physics department and director of the Montana Space Grant Consortium based at Montana State University-Bozeman. The
2009 mission will involve a rover, too, but that vehicle will be the size of a mini-van.
...........
Nuclear power is a good thing, because it means the rover won't be disabled by dust covering the power source, Hiscock said. The current rovers are expected to run 90 days before they're done in by conditions like dust or extreme temperature changes
www.spacedaily.com...
[Edited on 19-1-2004 by MarkLuitzen]
[Edited on 19-1-2004 by MarkLuitzen]
...........
Nuclear power is a good thing, because it means the rover won't be disabled by dust covering the power source, Hiscock said. The current rovers are expected to run 90 days before they're done in by conditions like dust or extreme temperature changes
www.spacedaily.com...
[Edited on 19-1-2004 by MarkLuitzen]
[Edited on 19-1-2004 by MarkLuitzen]
reply posted on 31-12-2004 @ 10:59 AM by E_T
Originally posted by cmdrkeenkidWell... not exactly nuclear reactors, but RTGs. (Radioisotope thermoelectric generator)
Anyway, lots of craft have been launched that are carrying nuclear reactors. It's no real worry.
I've seen those called as Plutonium batteries few times in newspaper and actually that's partly right, in normal battery energy is stored in chemical form, in these it's "stored" in heavy radiactive/unstable elements.
All probes send farther than Mars (and some else like Ulysses) have used these because in outer solar system there isn't enough sunlight.
This is the power source which would be used by this new rover in design stage.
mars.jpl.nasa.gov...
Real fission reactors has been used only in Soviet RORSATs... and typically for them, reactors of those are now leaking droplets of radioactive coolant to earth's orbit.
But JIMO mission, next big Jupiter probe might well use real fission reactor as its power source to enable it to use more instruments and bigger broadcasting power. (meaning faster data transfer)
www.jpl.nasa.gov...
[edit on 31-12-2004 by E_T]
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