Nuclear power for Mars surface

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6220927

Houts, M G; Buksa, J J; Howe, S D

Safe, reliable, low-mass, low-volume, long-life nuclear fission power supplies are an attractive option for meeting lunar and Martian surface power requirements. Two factors will have a strong impact on the suitability of a surface nuclear power supply: the technology used by the reactor and the overall system mass. Because thermionic technology is well suited for surface applications, this paper briefly discusses the existing 6 kWe Russian TOPAZ II reactor and two near-term US thermionic space nuclear power supplies capable of providing 40 kWe. Man-rated shielding will be a significant fraction of the mass of any surface nuclear fission power supply. Because of the importance of optimizing the reactor shield, this paper presents detailed calculations related to the shielding properties of lunar and Martian soil, and the effectiveness of using existing craters to shield a reactor. Preliminary results indicate that it may be desirable to incorporate neutron shielding into the reactor design, but when possible in-situ materials should be used. Preliminary calculations also indicate that while existing craters could provide substantial shielding, radiation scatter off of the crater rim may limit the overall shielding effectiveness of the crater. 7 refs.

• OSTI ID: 6220927
• Report Number(s): AIAA-Paper-93-1182; CONF-9302142-; TRN: 93-016820
• Resource Relation: Conference: Aerospace Industrial Association of America (AIAA), American Helicopter Society (AHS), and American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) aerospace design conference, Irvine, CA (United States), 16-19 Feb 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
SPACE POWER REACTORS
DESIGN
THERMIONIC REACTORS
FUEL CELLS
MARS PLANET
POWER GENERATION
RADIATION PROTECTION
SHIELDING
SPACE PROPULSION REACTORS
TOPAZ REACTOR
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
HYDRIDE MODERATED REACTORS
MOBILE REACTORS
PLANETS
POWER REACTORS
PROPULSION REACTORS
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
210600* - Power Reactors
Auxiliary
Mobile Package
& Transportable
220600 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Research
Test & Experimental Reactors