Firefly Aerospace to Test Radioisotope Heating Unit on Lunar Lander Mission
Firefly Aerospace will fly a payload from Zeno Power on an upcoming lunar lander mission to test a radioisotope heat source.
Firefly Aerospace has announced that it will fly a payload from Zeno Power on an upcoming lunar lander mission to test a radioisotope heat source.
The mission, scheduled to launch in 2028, will include a "Survive-the-Night" package from Zeno that is designed to operate during the lunar night. The package includes a small radioisotope heating unit (RHU) using americium-241 to produce 5 watts of thermal energy, which will keep the package and its components warm during the lunar night as temperatures drop to minus 170 degrees Celsius.
The package's purpose is simple: to send a ping back to Earth after five days into the lunar night, indicating that it is still operational. This meets the requirements of an incentive NASA included in a recent Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order to demonstrate survive-the-night technologies.
The ability to operate through multiple lunar days is becoming increasingly important as NASA develops a lunar base. Firefly Aerospace's director of spacecraft mission management, Farah Zuberi, said that this demonstration will teach a lot about what the future looks like when it comes to power, specifically on the moon and in support of the Moon Base.
Zeno Power's chief executive, Tyler Bernstein, said that the RHU itself is about the size of a silver dollar. The payload on the Firefly lander will be the first space mission for Zeno and also the first of this class of commercial radioisotope power sources.
The companies did not disclose technical details about the Zeno Power package, such as its mass and volume. However, Bernstein said that the regulatory piece will be just as hard as the nuclear payload technology piece.
Zeno Power is working to scale up production of RHUs in anticipation of future missions that need to survive the lunar night. The company is also working on radioisotope power sources that use Stirling generators to produce electrical power.
Firefly Aerospace is not the only lander company planning tests of RHUs. Intuitive Machines, another lander company, also pursued the survive-the-night incentive in the CLPS task order and was awarded a lander mission in June.
However, Intuitive Machines' executive director of nuclear space programs, Vince Bilardo, said that the company cannot fly the mission without indemnification from NASA for the nuclear payload, citing a lack of a commercial market for insuring such payloads.
Radioisotope Heating Unit Specifications
| Zeno Power RHU | |
|---|---|
| Power output | 5 watts |
| Radioisotope used | Americium-241 |
| Size | About the size of a silver dollar |
Future Plans for Radioisotope Power Sources
Zeno Power is working to scale up production of RHUs in anticipation of future missions that need to survive the lunar night. The company is also working on radioisotope power sources that use Stirling generators to produce electrical power.
Firefly Aerospace is studying how to incorporate this technology on future missions, which could involve RHUs for specific payloads or for the entire lander. The company will learn a lot from this mission and will assess on a case-by-case basis what customers' needs are going to be.
