Nuriho performance verification satellite equipped with nuclear power battery ‘Isangmu’

Sustained Long-term Maintenance of Targeted Electrical Output… Proven by Embedding in Moon Lander

Research team at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute that developed nuclear battery
[Provided by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Redistribution and DB prohibition]

‘(Daejeon = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Ju-young = The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced on the 9th that the nuclear battery embedded in the Nuriho performance verification satellite has been confirmed to maintain stable performance over a long period of time.’

‘The nuclear battery, which utilizes the decay heat of radioactive isotopes to generate power, is gaining attention as a stable energy source in space environments where external power sources such as solar and wind are not available.’

‘The research institute succeeded in developing a nuclear battery for the third time in 2022 following the United States and Russia.’

‘Developed by Dr. Hong Jin-tae’s research team, the nuclear battery uses a radioisotope (plutonium-238) as the heat source, and consists of a thermoelectric generator that converts heat to electricity, and a thermal control structure that prevents heat loss within the battery, producing a small nuclear battery with an output of 10W.’

‘It has been confirmed that the nuclear battery embedded in the Nuriho (KSLV-2) performance verification satellite launched in June 2022 achieved the targeted electrical output of 120±50 mW for 4 months.’

Image of nuclear battery embedded in Nuriho
[Provided by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Redistribution and DB prohibition]

‘This time, a one-and-a-half-year verification was conducted from November 2022 to May this year to confirm whether the nuclear battery can maintain electrical output over a long period.’

‘After receiving the output voltage and internal temperature of the nuclear battery from the satellite body and analyzing the data transmitted during communication with the ground station, it was confirmed that the nuclear battery continued to produce approximately 120 mW of power without a decrease in output or component failure.’

‘This level is sufficient for performing missions such as monitoring environmental temperatures on the extremely cold surface of the moon and measuring space radiation.’

‘This experiment was conducted by replacing radioisotope heat sources with electric heaters in compliance with the United Nations international regulations prohibiting the use of radioactive substances in near-Earth orbits, generating heat equivalent to radioisotope decay heat.’

‘This is the fruition of nine years of research and development on space exploration nuclear batteries supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT.’

‘The research team plans to conduct a practical demonstration of power generation on the moon by embedding a nuclear battery in a lunar lander.’

‘Furthermore, they are conducting research to enhance output and safety to apply nuclear batteries to lunar surface resource extraction and other purposes.’

Nuclear battery developed by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
[Provided by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Redistribution and DB prohibition]

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