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ESA's Mars Rover Mission Rescued: Nuclear Tech and NASA Partnership Propel Launch to 2028 · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads that
• 0:08
  shape SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neuralink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host Will Walden. Europe's upcoming Mars mission
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  will feature a groundbreaking nuclear powered device utilizing
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  the radioactive decay of a Mercium the maintain the
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  operational temperatures now. The European Space Agency, the
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  ESA, announced these plans on May 16th in conjunction with
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  detailing an agreement with NASA, solidifying the US
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  agency's support for this mission.
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  The mission, aiming to deploy Europe's first Mars Rover,
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  Roseland Franklin, initially collaborated with Russia's Ross
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  Kosmos, but they separate ties in 2022 following Russia's
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  invasion of the Ukraine. Now radio isotope heater units
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  are RH US, which use the heat generated by radioactive decay
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  to warm spacecraft components, eliminate the need for solar
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  panel generated electricity for heating purposes.
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  Historically, ESA has relied on RH US using plutonium 238 from
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  US or Russian sources. Since 2009, ISA has ursued an
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  independent program to develop its own Rhus and radioisotope
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  batteries, fostering technological self-reliance.
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  Now, the European RH US will warm components of the mission's
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  landing platform, which will deploy to Rover onto Mars.
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  Now this platform willpower the Rover before it activates its
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  solar panels. Ensuring the Landers longevity
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  offers a safeguard against potential issues during the
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  Rover's deployment, according to Orson Sutherland, ESA's group
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  leader for Mars exploration at the European Space Research and
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  Technology Center, or the ESTEC, or the Aztec in the Netherlands.
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  How ESA's heater units will pioneer the use of Emir Serum
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  241, a byproduct of plutonium decay that provides less power
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  per gram but is more abundant and cost effective, Sutherland
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  remarked. Developing and launching a
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  European RHU will be a first for ESA.
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  In a major achievement. Now, the Roseland Franklin
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  Rover, designed to search for ancient life on Mars, features a
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  2m drill capable of reaching deep beneath the Martian
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  surface. Initially set for a launch in
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  2018, the mission faced delays due to technical issues and
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  COVID-19 before geopolitical tensions with Russia further
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  impacted the schedule. And with Russ Cosmos initially
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  responsible for the Landers construction, ISA had to
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  redesign the mission to proceed without Russia now.
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  This led to a new European design Lander and NASA's
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  involvement to bridge the remaining gaps in the mission.
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  Plan on new agreement, NASA will provide the launch capability
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  for XO Mars in 2028 and breaking engines for the Lander as well
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  as radioisotope heater units for the Rover and the development of
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  Ameri. CMRH use falls under the
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  European devices using Radioisotope Energy or the
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  ENDURE project. Now, given the radioactive
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  materials involved, these devices require thorough
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  certification before launch. By the late twenty 20s, the
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  ENDURE project aims to develop amyrosium batteries that can
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  generate electricity for spacecraft, not just heat.
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  These advancements are planned in time for a series of ESA Moon
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  missions in the early twenty 30s.
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  Unlike RH US, these nuclear batteries or radioisotope
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  thermoelectric generators convert radioactive to decay
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  heat into electrical power. The National Nuclear Laboratory
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  in Cella Field, UK, will produce the amyrosium pellets for these
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  heaters and batteries, utilizing spent nuclear fuel from UK civil
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  power plants. It's crucial for ensuring a
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  domestic supply of radioisotope materials for future space
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  missions. Now.
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  Sutherland noted that having its own RH US will enable ESA to
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  explore previously inaccessible areas of space and extend
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  mission durations. They said the ability to keep
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  flight systems warm in shaded areas, such as craters or during
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  the night will allow previously inaccessible areas to be
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  explored and extend mission lifetime.
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  The Exo Mars program, costing about $1.3 billion, aims to
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  launch the Roseland Franklin Rover in around 2028, buoying by
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  a $360 million investment from European countries.
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  This support was essential after ESA terminated its partnership
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  with Russia in 2022 after the Ukraine invasion.
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  Ros Cosmos, once a primary partner providing the Proton
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  launch vehicle in critical parts of the Rovers landing platform,
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  faced isolation due to international sanctions, and
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  NASA's involvement has been pivotal in securing an American
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  launch provider and necessary technology to facilitate the
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  Rovers landing on Mars. Now, NASA's Associate
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  Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate expressed
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  support for the collaboration, saying that NASA supports the
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  Rosalind Franklin mission to continue the strong partnership
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  between the US and Europe to explore the unknown in our solar
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  system and beyond. Originally slated for a 2022
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  launch, the missions delay was exacerbated by geopolitical
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  tensions. Launch windows to Mars are
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  critical, available only every 26 months when Mars and the
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  Earth aligned favorably for travel.
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  And the new 2028 launch date gives ESA the time needed to
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  develop the Rover and secure launch vehicle.
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  Now, this is another thing the orbiter, the Trace Gas Orbiter,
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  launched in 2016 as part of the EXO Mars mission's first phase,
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  and it's provided valuable data, including detailed measurements
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  of methane in the Martian atmosphere.
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  Now this data has been used to create high resolution maps of
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  Mars, identifying water race deposits and potential landing
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  sites for future missions. This new Rover, the Roseland
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  Franklin, stands out to its advanced scientific experiment
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  equipment, including its ability to drill 2 meters below the
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  Martian surface. This depth enables the Rover to
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  access ice samples shielded from surface radiation and extreme
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  temperatures, increasing the chances of finding well
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  preserved organic life giving molecules.
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  Now primary instrument on the Rover, the Mars Organic Molecule
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  Analyzer, will search for life's building blocks within these
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  deep samples. Rosalind Franklin's Rover's
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  unique drilling capabilities and onboard samples laboratory have
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  outstanding scientific value for humanity's search for evidence
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  of past life on Mars. Now, Russ Cosmos's isolation has
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  heightened due to the Ukrainian conflict and result in sanctions
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  altering the landscape of International Space
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  collaboration. The agency has been focused on
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  increasing its space militarization capabilities and
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  strengthening its partnership with China, who is also
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  expanding a space program. The new geopolitical landscaping
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  space is marked by intensified competition and collaboration
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  shifts, with both the US and China vying for international
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  partners. China's recent mission to the
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  moon, including payloads from Sweden, France, Italy and
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  Pakistan. It's a growing space race right
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  now, and the ESA's Mars mission is a significant step in space
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  exploration, advancements in nuclear power technology,
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  working with NASA. And as the agency looks ahead to
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  future missions, the developments and partnerships
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  established for the Roseland Franklin Rover will play a
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  critical role in expanding our understanding of Mars and
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  beyond. Hey, thank you so much for
• 7:36
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 7:38
  support. If you could take a second and
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  hit this subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
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  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
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  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
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  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero.
• 8:02
  And please take care of yourselves and each other.
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  And I'll see you tomorrow.