India’s moon exploration mission, Chandrayaan 3 which had already soft-landed near the lunar south pole a few weeks back, has successfully demonstrated the test’s use of nuclear energy in power generation in one of its components, as per a latest report.
Reportedly, the propulsion module of Chandrayaan 3, which is still orbiting the Moon, has been powered by a Radioisotope Heating Unit (RHU).
It includes two RHUs, each generating one watt of heat, designed and developed by BARC. Project director P. Veeramuthuvel.
He has expressed the possibility of using nuclear resources to maintain instruments in future rovers.
It is noteworthy here that the RHUs were not installed on Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover due to increased mass, as per the report.
Basically, they were placed in the propulsion module for experimental and demonstration purposes.
How Does This Help?
Out of the two RHUs, each generates approximately one watt of heat through the natural radioactive decay of a small pellet primarily composed of plutonium dioxide, particularly plutonium-238, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
This generated heat can be directly transferred to spacecraft structures, systems, and instruments.
Hence, eliminating the need for moving parts or intervening electronic components.
The modern spacecraft electronics and mechanical systems sometimes require assistance in maintaining optimal temperatures.
So, when they are placed aboard a spacecraft or inside a rover, the heat energy from RHUs serves to keep a mission’s hardware at proper operating temperatures.
“Like a steady campfire that warms intrepid hikers in a remote forest, radioisotope heater units help bring dependable heat to wherever it’s needed for missions bound for the coldest corners of the solar system,” says NASA.
As we know that the RHUs have a rich history of use in space missions.
First time, they were used with the science experiments that were left on the surface of the Moon in 1969 by the Apollo 11 astronauts.
Besides the Moon, they have been used in missions that have carried them to Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, said NASA.
Highlights Of Chandrayaan 3 Mission
The country’s Chandrayaan 3 mission included a rover, Pragyan, carried inside the Vikram lander through a propulsion module.
Notably, it did not include a lunar orbiter, unlike its predecessor, Chandrayaan 2 as the earlier one continues to operate as intended.
It appears that the Vikram lander with the Pragyan Rover successfully landed on the moon on August 23 and it entered sleep mode after completing 10 days of lunar exploration.
Interestingly, the propulsion module is still orbiting the moon after separating from the lander.
With the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3, India has become the fourth country to achieve a controlled landing on the lunar surface and the very first to achieve a landing near the south pole.
