NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program Status

Abstract

NASA's Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program began formal implementation in December 2010. The RPS Program's goal is to make available RPS for the exploration of the solar system in environments where conventional solar or chemical power generation is impractical or impossible to meet mission needs. To meet this goal, the RPS Program manages investments in RPS system development and RPS technologies. The current keystone of the RPS Program is the development of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG). This generator will be about four times more efficient than the more traditional thermoelectric generators, while providing a similar amount of power. This paper provides the status of the RPS Program and its related projects. Opportunities for RPS generator development and targeted research into RPS component performance enhancements, as well as constraints dealing with the supply of radioisotope fuel, are also discussed in the context of the next ten years of planetary science mission plans.

Thermoelectric properties of tubular nanowires in the presence of a transverse magnetic field

“…Thermoelectric materials have attracted considerable attention due to their potential applications in electronics [1][2][3][4], as energy conversion devices [5][6][7][8][9], or as components of complex instruments used in medical science [10]. Thermoelectric devices display interesting properties such as being very reliable because they do not contain any moving part, being of very small size, and most importantly, capable of energy harvesting from waste heat of environment, that makes them very attractive for industry [5,11,12]. Semiconductor nanowires are promising candidates for thermoelectric applications, along with their rich and complex electrical, optical, and photovoltaics properties [13][14][15][16].…”