What kind of power does a rover need to explore Mars? There are a few options, actually.
NASA will issue its decision Dec. 19 for how to power the rover that will be used in the Mars 2020 mission, NASA's next big scientific experiment for finding out whether there's the potential for life on the red planet, according to a notice posted to the Federal Register.
That said, the agency has made clear its preferred and most likely option, which would be to utilize a radioisotope power system — a type of nuclear energy technology that uses heat to produce electric power for operating spacecraft systems and science instruments.
The specific system NASA hopes to use is the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, which was developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems under a 2003 contract and is used to supply heat and power to the components and science instruments to the Curiosity rover now exploring Mars.
That's not the only option, though. The Mars 2020 rover could instead utilize solar energy as its primary source of electrical power to operate and conduct science on the surface of Mars. Or, it could utilize a combination — solar energy as its primary source of electrical power, augmented by the thermal output from a light-weight radioisotope power system.
Obviously, the solar option is less reliable. But it also might be the safest. Among the considerations in making the final call is potential impact of an accident in the area surrounding the launch site at Kennedy Space Center's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. According to the notice, potential launch accidents could result in the release of some of the radioactive fuel from within the radioisotope power system. How much? The system planned for use on the rover for NASA preferred, proposed option would use about 4.8 kilograms, or 10.6 pounds, of plutonium dioxide. The light-weight alternative would use only 192 grams, or 0.42 pounds.
That said, the Department of Energy performed a risk assessment of potential accidents for the Mars 2020 mission and found that "in the unlikely event of a launch accident, a release of radioactive material is not expected."
So what's the latest with the rover's development? In July, NASA selected the seven instruments that will be included to conduct science and exploration technology investigations on Mars, after receiving 58 proposals. All of them came from academia and government research institutions, domestic and international.
So what are the opportunities for contractors? Too soon to tell.