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Suggested Citation:"Appendix G: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2009. Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12653.
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Page 53
Suggested Citation:"Appendix G: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2009. Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12653.
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Page 54

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Appendix G Acronyms and Abbreviations ac alternating current MMRTG Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric ASC Advanced Stirling Converter Generator ASRG Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator ATHLETE All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial NASA National Aeronautics and Space Explorer (as in an ATHLETE rover) Administration ATR Advanced Test Reactor (at Idaho National NEPA National Environmental Policy Act Laboratory) NI PEIS Nuclear Infrastructure Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement CLWR commercial light-water reactor Np neptunium NRC National Research Council dc direct current OPF Outer Planets Flagship DOD Department of Defense ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory DOE Department of Energy OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy EIS environmental impact statement Pu plutonium EJSM Europa Jupiter System Mission EMI electromagnetic interference RHU radioisotope heater unit RPS radioisotope power system FY fiscal year RTG radioisotope thermoelectric generator GPHS general purpose heat source SNAP Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power GRC Glenn Research Center SPF single-point failure SRG Stirling radioisotope generator HFIR High Flux Isotope Reactor (at Oak Ridge National Laboratory) TPV thermophotovoltaic TRIGA Training, Research, Isotopes, General INL Idaho National Laboratory Atomics (as in a TRIGA reactor) INSRP Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel TSSM Titan Saturn System Mission JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory We watts of electrical power 53

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Spacecraft require electrical energy. This energy must be available in the outer reaches of the solar system where sunlight is very faint. It must be available through lunar nights that last for 14 days, through long periods of dark and cold at the higher latitudes on Mars, and in high-radiation fields such as those around Jupiter. Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are the only available power source that can operate unconstrained in these environments for the long periods of time needed to accomplish many missions, and plutonium-238 (238Pu) is the only practical isotope for fueling them.

Plutonium-238 does not occur in nature. The committee does not believe that there is any additional 238Pu (or any operational 238Pu production facilities) available anywhere in the world.The total amount of 238Pu available for NASA is fixed, and essentially all of it is already dedicated to support several pending missions--the Mars Science Laboratory, Discovery 12, the Outer Planets Flagship 1 (OPF 1), and (perhaps) a small number of additional missions with a very small demand for 238Pu. If the status quo persists, the United States will not be able to provide RPSs for any subsequent missions.

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