China's moon rover to use domestic nuclear battery
China.org.cn, August 13, 2012
China's moon rover seen in a Zhuhai aviation and aerospace exhibition. [File photo]
A Chinese nuclear battery will power the country's first moon rover after it lands on the lunar surface next year, Shanghai Daily reported.
The rover is expected to reach the moon on board Chang'e-3, China's third lunar probe, to carry out exploration activities.
Using plutonium-238, the battery will be able to power the 100-kilogram vehicle for more than 30 years, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's lunar exploration program.
"The nuclear power system will make China the third country apart from the United States and Russia to be able to apply nuclear technology to space exploration," Ouyang said.
The moon rover is China's most advanced robot with complete automatic navigation and operations. It will be powered by the sun during daytime and by nuclear power during the night.
A lunar night lasts for 14 days with temperatures reaching below minus 100 degrees Celsius. The battery will be the only source of energy during that time and will prevent the equipment from freezing. An expandable solar panel will absorb the sun's energy during the day.
Chang'e-3 will be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan province in 2013.
China launched Chang'e-1 in 2007 and Chang'e-2 in 2010. The first probe retrieved a great deal of scientific data and a complete map of the moon while the second created a full higher-resolution map of the moon.
Ouyang said the rover and the Chang'e-3 would stay on the moon until the Chang'e-5 probe arrived to take samples and the rover back to the Earth.
He said China was currently working on the Chang'e-5 as well as a new Long March-5 rocket to carry the probe.