The two generators to be tested at UDRI are the only ones on Earth; a third is currently powering Curiosity on Mars.
The MMRTG is the power system used to recharge the batteries on the Curiosity rover. Barklay said the multi-mission system is “unique” because it is the first radioisotope thermoelectric generator built for both planetary atmospheres as well as for the vacuum of space.
“The technology was invented here in Dayton back in the late 1950s,” Barklay said. “A lot of work had been done here in the Dayton area over the past 30 years, so it’s nice to see that the technology to a certain extent has come back to its birthplace.”
UD officials dedicated the new MMRTG Lifecycle Testing Laboratory on Tuesday at the university’s River Campus building at 1700 S. Patterson Blvd. They were joined by representatives from the Department of Energy, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Alice Caponiti, the Department of Energy’s director of space and defense power systems, said UDRI was selected to perform the testing because of its institutional knowledge about RTG technology, which was developed at the former Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg.
Barklay, a former Mound scientist, helped develop the layout and assembly procedures for the generator that was launched with Curiosity in August 2012.
UDRI also performs materials testing for the Department of Energy under the same contract, which runs from 2011 to 2016, Caponiti said.
UDRI researchers will design experiments to evaluate the performance of the first generator over time and under conditions similar to Mars, where temperatures can range from 45 degrees during the day to minus 100 degrees at night.
Similar experiments will be performed on the second generator, adjusted for the harsh environments the system will encounter on its way through deep space to Jupiter’s moon, Europa, in a mission under consideration for launch in the early 2020s.
The heat source material for the MMRTG is plutonium-238, which decays over time, providing less available heat to the thermoelectric generator for conversion to electrical power and to keep systems warm.
“What we don’t know is how does the performance really change as function of that decay of the fuel,” Barklay said.
UDRI’s data will give mission planners at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a better understanding about the type of power they will have for possible extensions of the Mars Science Lab’s mission, currently scheduled to end this summer. The data also will indicate how much power mission planners will have for their science experiments after the unit arrives at Europa.
Tuesday’s dedication was attended by about 35 area high school students, and also featured a panel discussion in which the scientists discussed opportunities in science, technology, mathematics and engineering careers.
“A lot of people from my generation went into the sciences because of the moon landings,” said Dan Kramer, a UD distinguished research engineer and former Mound scientist. “For this generation, we don’t have moon landings anymore, so now we have exploring the solar system.”
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