New developments in NASA electronics will lead to further interplanetary exploration
A NASA-sponsored team has recently developed electronics that can operate in harsh radiation and temperature conditions on distant planets.
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NASA is achieving new heights in technology as new, robust electronics can operate in vastly harsher planetary conditions.
A NASA-sponsored team has recently developed electronics that can operate in harsh radiation and temperature conditions on distant planets.
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"Not only could this new technology enable autonomous sensors and robotic exploration of distant ocean worlds, it could also support NASA’s goal to establish human outposts on the Moon and Mars by enabling electronic systems to function in those cold regions with reduced heating requirements," a statement from NASA reads.
Ocean planets such as Jupiter and Saturn are believed to contain water in the form of ice, vapor or liquid beneath their surfaces.
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Sadly, these locations are extremely harsh with high radiation levels (5 Mrad of ionizing radiation, which is 50 times more than is lethal to humans) and temperatures (-180 degrees), according to NASA.
Luckily, with the development of new electronics, it would be a huge advantage to be able to explore the surfaces of these worlds, as well as underwater or drill holes into ice caps.
Artist’s concept of Europa, one of Jupiter's four moons. (NASA)
To explore these destinations, the technology required would include electronics for sensing, control and communication so it can function in such hazardous and unforgiving conditions.
"In addition, such systems will need to meet very low size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements to enable their accommodation in missions traveling to such distant locations," scientists at NASA said.
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This is the next step in exploring distant ocean worlds and, hopefully, in creating human outposts on various planets in the future.
A team at Georgia Tech, led by Professor John D. Cressler, along with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the University of Tennessee, is working to develop silicon-germanium (SiGe) electronics that can survive both intense radiation and low-temperature environments found on ocean worlds.
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Most recently, the Georgia Tech-led team successfully demonstrated that silicon-germanium technology can meet the needs for exploring ocean worlds, achieving strong operation at -180 degrees and simultaneous radiation exposure up to 5 Mrad.
Photo of silicon-germanium (SiGe) technology. (NASA)
Despite the recent success, further development is needed before this becomes commercially available.
According to NASA, in past space exploration missions to locations such as the moon, electronics were kept in "warm boxes" to shield them from radiation and maintain Earth-like temperatures, ensuring good operation.
These new developments would no longer require the containment of a warm-box to operate on ocean worlds with such otherworldly environments.
SiGe electronics are now applicable for immediate use on the moon, Mars and even in Earth orbit.
This achievement gives scientists the ability to boost the infrastructure of technologies and exploration capabilities, starting with ocean planets.