Nuclear power space exploration

Pu (86 years) is formed from Np. Pu is separated by selective oxidation and solvent extraction. The metal is formed by reduction of PuF with calcium there are six crystal forms. Pu is used in nuclear weapons and reactors Pu is used as a nuclear power source (e.g. in space exploration). The ionizing radiation of plutonium can be a health hazard if the material is inhaled. 

The tritium that is needed to maintain the nuclear deterrent will be produced in commercial nuclear power plants which is inefficient and a compromise ofimportant and long standing nonproliferation practice plutonium-238 needed for space exploration is being purchased from Russia. 

Space exploration relies heavily on solar energy when the spacecraft is in the inner solar system. However, solar power is insufficient for spacecraft that have to journey to the outer planets. Chemical energy sources, typically batteries, tend to be relatively heavy and have rather short lifetimes for missions that are to last many years. The solution adopted to date is to combine a radioactive solid with a thermoelectric generator (see Section 15.2.3). The advantages of this solution are that there are no liquids to spill and no moving parts to wear, and a nuclear isotope with a long half-life will continue to provide power over the lifetime of the craft. 

Space Exploration. Space exploration has also substantially profited from nuclear technology— in particular, the development of the radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that have used plutonium-generated heat to produce electrical power for unmanned spaced travel ever since the launch of Voyager 1 in 1977. 

Project Prometheus was established in 2003 and included the goal of developing the first reactor-powered spaceship and demonstrating that it can be operated safely and reliably on long duration, deep-space missions for civilian space exploration. NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had overall lead for the project. The initial application of space fission power being evaluated was for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), a nuclear electric propulsion spaceship intended to perform deep-space scientific research. 

The Naval Reactors program was specifically chartered to work on a deep space nuclear power system for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission. The requirements for the Deep Space Vehicle (which includes the Reactor Module) included multi-mission capability for other civilian deep space exploration missions. The high level requirements of the Prometheus project also included that the nuclear power technologies developed be extensible to Moon/Mars surface exploration missions. This requirement of extensibility was implemented by NASA through Level 1 and Level 2 requirements as discussed below. 

The results obtained in this work can be used to solve the service problems of the following important engineering structures (1) transportation Systems and Vehicles - aircraft, space vehicles, trains, ships (2) civil Structures bridges, dams, tunnels (3) power generation— nuclear, fossil fuel and hydroelectric plants (4) high-value manufactured products— latmch systems, satellites, semiconductor and electronic equipment (5) industrial equipment—oil and gas exploration, production and processing equipment, chemical process facilities, pulp and paper. 

A series of the US thermoelectric power sources of the SNAP type was developed and used in space satellites and lunar explorations. In this, radioisotopes were heat sources in plants with uneven ordinal numbers and nuclear reactors were heat sources in plants with even ordinal numbers [III-l, III-2]. 

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