MSL MMRTG loading 2011-7899

Autor/Urheber:

Department of Energy/Idaho National Laboratory

Shortlink:

https://www.dewiki.de/b/f76ca

Quelle:

Wikimedia Commons

Größe:

2016 x 1164 Pixel (768479 Bytes)

Beschreibung:

In the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, secured to a turning fixture, is positioned on the radioisotope power system integration cart (RIC). The MMRTG will be installed on the Curiosity rover with the aid of the RIC. 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 given off by this natural decay will provide constant power through the day and night during all seasons. Curiosity, MSL's car-sized rover, has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Waste heat from the MMRTG will be circulated throughout the rover system to keep instruments, computers, mechanical devices and communications systems within their operating temperature ranges. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl.

Lizenz:

Public domain

Credit:

• https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-2011-7899
• http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=57126 on the Wayback Machine in der Wayback Machine

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