Timeline for How can they be so sure that Dragonfly will "freeze to death" as opposed to simply (and eventually) running out of RTG power? (238Pu decay)
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Jun 7, 2021 at 2:17 | comment | added | Loren Pechtel | @uhoh That would be my thought. Spacecraft die when their available power drops below the worst case load. We saw that with Spirit and Opportunity--it was always touch and go whether they could survive the Martian winter, but when it warmed up again they woke up, until the time came when they couldn't get enough and were destroyed. A nuclear powered craft won't die from a lack of sunlight but the power issue is the same. | |
| Jun 7, 2021 at 2:10 | comment | added | uhoh | I see, so if it needs 30 watts to keep it's flight batteries from freezing overnight and being permanently damaged, but only 20 watts to otherwise stay alive and trickle-charge the batteries for an occasional short flight, then it will freeze to death before running out of power to operate. While my numbers are arbitrary, such an inequality may be what the quote is referring to? | |
| Jun 7, 2021 at 2:06 | history | answered | Loren Pechtel | CC BY-SA 4.0 |