page_title: Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator
section_title: Usage in space missions
hierarchical_section_title: Multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator / Usage in space missions
caption_attribution_description: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission rests on its support base in the airlock of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the MMRTG fit check on the Curiosity rover in the high bay. In the background, at right, is the mesh container, known as the "gorilla cage," which protects the MMRTG during transport and allows any excess heat generated to dissipate into the air. The MMRTG will generate the power needed for the mission from the natural decay of plutonium-238, a non-weapons-grade form of the radioisotope. Heat given off by this natural decay will provide constant power through the day and night during all seasons. MSL's components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Waste heat from the MMRTG will be circulated throughout the rover system to keep instruments, computers, mechanical devices and communications systems within their operating temperature ranges. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is targeted for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl.
context_page_description: The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator is a type of radioisotope thermoelectric generator developed for NASA space missions such as the Mars Science Laboratory, under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Energy's Office of Space and Defense Power Systems within the Office of Nuclear Energy. The MMRTG was developed by an industry team of Aerojet Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems.
context_section_description: Curiosity, the MSL rover that was successfully landed in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012, uses one MMRTG to supply heat and electricity for its components and science instruments. Reliable power from the MMRTG will allow it to operate for several years.
  On February 20, 2015, a NASA official reported that there is enough plutonium available to NASA to fuel three more MMRTG like the one used by the Curiosity rover. One is already committed to the Mars 2020 rover. The other two have not been assigned to any specific mission or program, and could be available by late 2021.
  A MMRTG was successfully launched into orbit on July 30, 2020 aboard the Mars 2020 mission.
caption: The multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator of Mars Science Laboratory.
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