Timeline for How will Curiosity manage its power when its nuclear power starts to run low?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2020 at 15:03 | comment | added | Cornelis | @Hobbes If i read it well, the 1.5% is due to the half-life of the basic heat source. most power degradation is because of the precipitation. | |
| Dec 27, 2015 at 17:36 | comment | added | Hobbes | The go-to source for this kind of information is the NTRS, but unfortunately the studies into RTG degradation (search result 1-5) are not available as PDFs there: ntrs.nasa.gov/… | |
| Dec 27, 2015 at 17:31 | comment | added | Hobbes | this book says it's due to precipitation of the phosphorous doping in the n-type leg of the thermocouple, leading to a 1.5%/year decay in capacity. | |
| Dec 27, 2015 at 14:39 | comment | added | uhoh | @Hobbes is there something out there we can read about thermocouple degradation? Is it radiation damage primarily? | |
| Feb 10, 2014 at 20:22 | comment | added | Mark Adler | Not so sure about the batteries being the limiting factor. MER's Li-ion batteries have shown almost no degradation in ten years. I don't think that we understand why. More degradation was predicted. At this point, I would guess that the wheels will be the limiting factor, perhaps followed by the moving parts -- actuators and joints. | |
| Feb 10, 2014 at 13:47 | comment | added | Hobbes | The available power will drop faster than the decay would suggest: the thermocouples become less efficient over time. | |
| S Feb 10, 2014 at 13:27 | history | suggested | mpv | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
"TRG" changed to "RTG" (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator). Improved readability of the last sentence.
|
| Feb 10, 2014 at 13:26 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Feb 10, 2014 at 13:27 | |||||
| Jul 17, 2013 at 21:51 | vote | accept | CommunityBot | ||
| Jul 17, 2013 at 13:13 | history | answered | PearsonArtPhoto♦ | CC BY-SA 3.0 |