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Hear from ORNL scientists who worked on Perseverance mission

Posted at 10:39 am February 16, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Video published on YouTube by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Three scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss their work this afternoon on technologies for the Perseverance rover, which uses plutonium-238 produced at the lab and will touch down on Mars on Thursday.

Perseverance is scheduled to make its final descent into Jezero Crater on the surface of Mars on Thursday. It’s the first NASA mission that uses plutonium-238 produced at ORNL.

The plutonium-238 is encased in iridium-alloy cladding, and it is insulated by carbon-bonded carbon fiber. It’s used in the heat source module that fuels Perseverance’s multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator. As the plutonium decays, the heat that is released is converted into electricity, charging the rover’s batteries and powering the onboard advanced imaging and sensor systems. (Learn more about the Mars mission here.)

The online event today featuring the three ORNL scientists is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, and it is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: George Ulrich, Mars, NASA, Nidia Gallego, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Perseverance, plutonium-238, radioisotope thermoelectric generator, Robert Wham

Plutonium-238 produced at ORNL helps restores ability to power NASA space missions

Posted at 1:35 pm December 23, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

ORNL-Plutonium-238

By producing 50 grams of plutonium-238, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated the nation’s ability to provide a valuable energy source for deep space missions. (Photo by ORNL)

 

With the production of 50 grams of plutonium-238, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have restored a U.S. capability dormant for nearly 30 years and set the course to provide power for NASA and other missions.

Plutonium-238 produces heat as it decays, and it can be used in systems that power spacecraft instruments. The new sample, which is in the same oxide powder form used to manufacture heat sources for power systems, represents the first end-to-end demonstration of a plutonium-238 production capability in the United States since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production of the material in the late 1980s.

Researchers will analyze the sample for chemical purity and plutonium-238 content, then verify production efficiency models and determine whether adjustments need to be made before scaling up the process.

“Once we automate and scale up the process, the nation will have a long-range capability to produce radioisotope power systems such as those used by NASA for deep space exploration,” said Bob Wham, who leads the project for the lab’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Bob Wham, deep space missions, DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, DOE Office of Science, High Flux Isotope Reactor, Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA, NASA mission, neptunium oxide, neptunium-237, neptunium-238, Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, plutonium-238, spacecraft, U.S. Department of Energy

ORNL, DOE sites help power New Horizons’ journey to Pluto

Posted at 5:27 pm July 16, 2015
By U.S. Department of Energy Leave a Comment

Pluto

This image of Pluto, taken by New Horizons after a 9.5-year journey, is our highest-resolution photo of the dwarf planet since its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. (Photo courtesy of NASA via DOE)

 

By Matt Dozier

​NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft just accomplished one of the most exciting feats in the history of space exploration. After a 9.5-year, 3-billion-mile journey, the mission’s historic flyby of Pluto has provided us with our first-ever closeup views of the frozen world at the edge of the solar system. It’s a remarkable achievement, one that wouldn’t have been possible without careful planning, ingenuity—and a little help from the U.S. Department of Energy.

In 2006, when NASA engineers were designing New Horizons, they knew that it would need a long-lasting, compact and incredibly reliable power source to survive the cold, dark reaches of outer space.

Solar power was out of the question. The spacecraft’s itinerary would take it billions of miles from the center of the solar system into the realm of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. That far out, the Sun shines with just a tiny fraction of the intensity we see here on Earth—scarcely brighter than the stars in the night sky. Other options like batteries or fuel cells wouldn’t last long enough. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: DOE, electricity, Energy Department, Idaho National Laboratory, Kuiper Belt, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Matt Dozier, NASA, New Horizons, nuclear power, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pluto, plutonium, plutonium-238, radioisotope thermoelectric generator, RTG, Savannah River Site, thermocouples, U.S. Department of Energy

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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