Talk:Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter

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Less risky than RTGs

This configuration is thought to be less risky than the RTGs used on previous missions to the outer Solar System.[why?]

So I work for NASA GRC on this exact stuff. I'm not sure if it's appropriate for me to edit this article or not. However I'm pretty sure the reason this says that it's less risky is that the nuclear material used in a fission reactor is MUCH less radioactive than the material used to provide heat in an RTG. The JIMO reactor when off at launch would produce about 7.3 curies of radioactivity while capable of producing 200kW of heat in operation. Producing that amount of heat using a radioisotope like PU-238 (like what's used in a GPHS) would require launching around 5,800,000 curies.

If there was some kind of launch accident that resulted in nuclear material being released into the environment, the RTG would be a lot worse. For context, the three mile island accident released 2.5 million curies, and Chernobyl released 100-150 million Curies.

[1]https://www.philrutherford.com/briefings/Space_Nuclear_Safety.pdf 198.120.11.183 (talk) 15:56, 3 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]