Abstract
Radioisotope Heat Sources and Power Systems Enabling Ocean Worlds Subsurface and Ocean Access Missions
Highlights
It is evident, that only nuclear power sources are suitable options for onboard power sources when considering the total thermal and electrical energy requirements of a cryobot
The scientific community and NASA are focusing on ice-penetrating robots, or cryobots, capable of “rapid” penetration and scientific sampling of thick ice shells down to an ice-ocean interface where it would enable ocean observations [2, 4, 6]
When compared to fission-based options, radioisotope-based options are most amenable to minimizing landed system mass, based on the results of recent studies [4, 6], and so this paper focuses on radioisotope power systems (RPS)
Summary
RPS are frequently NASA’s power system of choice to enable or enhance long-duration missions to dark, distant, or dusty locations. RPS waste heat has proven an effective way to offset or satisfy a spacecraft’s thermal management needs. RPS use the natural decay of plutonium (Pu-238) as a heat source and convert that heat into electrical power. We focus on concepts based on the use of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) rather than dynamic RPS, given that dynamic systems can suffer from similar problems as fission systems (excessive mass and excessive constraints on probe diameter)
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