Are Nuclear Powered Mars Rovers a Good Idea?

meatybeans writes "NASA officials are meeting today, with concerned residents around Cape Canaveral, regarding the power system for the upcoming Mars Science Lab mission. MSL is going to be like our current rovers on steroids. The plans call for a larger, heavier rover with a lot more juice for gadgets. This meeting however brings to light the issue of the power system for the MSL. The Mars Science Lab originally called for a nuclear power source, much like the Cassini and New Horizon missions use. Some vocal opposition to this has been voiced in the past. As a result, NASA has backup plans to employ solar power and small amounts of RTG's ^? if arguments against straight nuclear for MSL win out. As with most, things 'NIMBY' ^? seems to be in full effect when it comes RTG's. Does the recent success of the rovers show us that RTG's are not needed for Mars exploration? Are 1:420 odds of an accident that bad? Finally, are the hearings that are taking place between NASA and the public really just a formality in the name of public relations?"

Comments

Yes, of course

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, of course they're a good idea. People should get over their irrational fear of decaying nuclei.

RTGs are not dangerous

[SirBruce]

As I pointed out in the Victoria Crater story, there are places a solar-powered rover can't really explore effectively, or for very long. You can't just land the current MER rovers "anywhere" on Mars and expect them to work. An RTG-powered rover will work longer and better than a MER rover, assuming all other things are equal (not breakdowns elsewhere). Suppose instead Spirit and Opportunity had been RTG-powered... would we now be saying, "Hey, these RTGs work great, so why bother with solar probes anymore?"

But the real answer to your quest is that RTGs aren't dangerous, so the entire premise of the question is flawed. A launch failure isn't going to make Florida a radioactive wasteland. We've launched dozens of RTGs in past missions. The last big "outcry" was over the Cassini mission, and NASA made the correct decision and launched anyway. Hopefully they'll make the correct decision again and use RTGs for the future rovers like MSL. Bottom line: it's not any more risky to launch an RTG powered probe than a solar powered one, so you use RTG power for the missions that need it and solar power for the missions that need it.

Bruce

Russian Mars Train

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it's a great idea. The Russian space agency had plans for a nuclear power "Mars Train" in the 60s. It was manned as well. Mars train.

Re:They'll be perfectly fine

[Detritus]

Pu-238 is not fissile, and an RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) is not a nuclear reactor, it uses the decay heat of the radioisotope to produce electricity.