Although Venus is about the same size and composition as Earth, it has a suffocating, scorching environment that has killed all probes trying to land on Venus in just a few minutes so far. In order to make the new Venus mission last longer, NASA is working with a company to develop batteries that will not be melted by the high temperature of Venus to continue to power the LLISSE lander.
It is no easy task to build a probe that can survive on Venus. The surface temperature of this planet is 465°C, which is enough to melt the lead in the circuit board and burn most of the batteries. Detectors for common materials fail quickly, and atmospheric pressure, equivalent to 1,500 meters underwater, is strong enough to crush small parts.
Faced with this environment, only a series of Russian Venus mission probes have reached the surface of Venus in the past, and they were declared dead after running for at most 2 hours; in addition, the atmosphere of Venus is very thick, so the power system cannot use solar panels, and it is already very Managing a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) on hot Venus is also a challenge, so the best option is to develop a battery-based power system.
To solve the problem of battery damage, NASA is working with Advanced Thermal Batteries (ATB) to develop a thermal battery for the LLISSE mission that can survive on the surface of Venus for up to 60 days, using a special warm electrolyte that is solid and inert at Earth temperatures, But when heated to a high temperature, it immediately provides high power output, which is very suitable for Venus conditions.
▲ High-temperature thermal batteries for the surface of Venus.
Although the thermal battery itself has a high self-discharge rate and will run out of power in just a few hours, ATB has improved materials and chemical composition to create a new prototype battery that can run for 118 days in the laboratory, and is also working with NASA Grant. The center collaborates on research to improve battery stability to ensure it can survive launch and landing.
NASA plans to launch the LLISSE probe through the Russian Venera-D mission, which is scheduled to leave Earth for Venus in 2029.
(Image source: NASA)
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