(UFU - 2019 - 2 FASE)NASAs New Nuclear Reactor Cou

(UFU - 2019 - 2ª FASE)

NASA's New Nuclear Reactor Could Change Space Exploration
The Kilopower reactor is tiny, and it could power the spacecraft of the future.

By John Wenz

Want to start a space colony? Even if you don’t, space agencies across the globe do. Whether it’s a moon base now, à la the Trump administration’s plans for NASA, or a Mars landing later, such a colony will need a lot of power. And given the possibility of light-obscuring dust storms on the Red Planet and the moon seeing an uneven amount of sunlight, solar panels may not cut it. But don’t worry — Los Alamos National Lab has a plan. It hinges on nuclear power, which, at its most basic, consists of harnessing energy from radioactive elements. Often, this energy comes from a process called fission, when a neutron rams through an atom’s nucleus, splitting it. A nuclear reactor houses this chaos and uses the resulting heat to generate power.

Now, experts at Los Alamos are pushing to get a high-power, next-generation nuclear reactor into space. Their best shot is called Kilopower: a reactor the size of a paper towel roll, enclosed in protective casing the size of a tall trash can, weighing around 900 pounds. It relies on splitting uranium atoms and generates up to one kilowatt of power — enough to run ten 43-inch LED TVs for an hour or, more practically, a rover like Opportunity, currently roaming Mars, for up to around six and a half hours.

Kilopower’s uranium fuel is much more abundant, but the real beauty of Kilopower is “how we glued it together,” says Poston. He and Patrick McClure, another Los Alamos nuclear engineer, found a way to repurpose existing parts into a new, streamlined technology. The reactor itself — where the atom-splitting actually happens — sits inside a heat pipe. Usually, heat pipes funnel out heat that’s a byproduct of radioactive decay. But Kilopower’s pipes trap that heat and use it to power one of several built-in engines that generates electricity. There are nuclear emissions as well, but it’s still a safe device: people can stand near it a few minutes at a time while it’s powered on, and while it’s turned off, it emits less radiation than what you’d inherently experience on Mars.

Poston and McClure just wrapped up a prototype phase to test the system’s potential. They put the current version through its paces with an array of simulated challenges — it passed with flying colors.
Disponível em: <http://discovermagazine.com/2019/mar/nasas-powerful-plan>. Acesso em 20 fev. 2019.

RESPONDA A QUESTÃ O EM PORTUGUÊS. RESPOSTAS EM INGLÊS NÃ O SERÃ O ACEITAS.

Based on the text, answer the following questions.

A) What are some of the positive characteristics of Kilopower?

B) Is the statement “Solar panels may be more efficient than Kilopower to generate energy in Mars”
right or wrong? Justify your answer.