Lithium ion batteries for Mars exploration missions

Author

Ratnakumar, B.V. ; Smart, M.C. ; Byers, J. ; Ewell, R. ; Surampudi, S.

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

fYear

1999

fDate

1999

Firstpage

51

Lastpage

54

Abstract

The upcoming NASA missions aimed at exploring our Planetary system require batteries that can operate at extreme operating temperatures, with high specific energy and energy densities. Conventional aerospace rechargeable battery systems are inadequate to meet the demands. Lithium ion rechargeable batteries are thus being chosen for these missions. The Mars 2001 (Mars Surveyor Program MSP 01) Lander and the 2003 Mars Sample Return/Athena Rover are among the first of NASA´s missions to utilize the lithium ion technology. One common feature of these two missions is the need for the battery to operate well at sub-zero temperatures (down to -30°C), at moderate rates of charge and discharge. Elsewhere are therefore focussing on improving the low temperature performance of Li ion cells. Preliminary evaluations of the prototype cells reveal the adequacy of their performance to the needs of these missions

Keywords

Mars; electrochemistry; lithium; secondary cells; space vehicle power plants; Li-ion secondary batteries; Mars exploration missions; NASA missions; aerospace rechargeable battery systems; charge rates; discharge rates; energy density; extreme operating temperature; space power; specific energy; sub-zero temperatures; Batteries; Electric shock; Laboratories; Lithium; Mars; Nickel; Probes; Propulsion; Space technology; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Battery Conference on Applications and Advances, 1999. The Fourteenth Annual

Conference_Location

Long Beach, CA

ISSN

1089-8182

Print_ISBN

0-7803-4967-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/BCAA.1999.795965

Filename

795965