Lifting Curiosity Rover's MMRTG
August 2, 2012
The "gorilla cage," holding the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, is settled on one of the upper levels above the Atlas V rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. The MMRTG will be installed on the MSL spacecraft, encapsulated within the payload fairing.
The MMRTG will generate the power needed for the mission from the natural decay of plutonium-238, a non-weapons-grade form of the radioisotope. Heat emitted by this natural decay will provide constant power through the day and night during all seasons.
Image credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Nov. 17, 2011
Topics:
Technology Internet, Space exploration, energy, Nuclear technology, Physics, Plutonium-238, Mars exploration, Unmanned spacecraft, Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator, Radioisotope heater unit, Spacecraft, Plutonium, Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, Mars Science Laboratory, Radioisotope thermoelectric generator, Nuclear materials, Electrical generators, Actinides, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Environment
