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Performance Testing of Yardney Li-Ion Cells and Batteries in Support of JPL's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory MissionIn 2009, JPL is planning to launch an unmanned rover mission to the planet Mars. This mission, referred to as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), will involve the use of a rover that is much larger than the previously developed Spirit and Opportunity Rovers for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission, that are currently still in operation on the surface of the planet after more than three years. Part of the reason that the MER rovers have operated so successfully, far exceeding the required mission duration of 90 sols, is that they possess robust Li-ion batteries, manufactured by Yardney Technical Products, which have demonstrated excellent life characteristics. Given the excellent performance characteristics displayed, similar lithium-ion batteries have been projected to successfully meet the mission requirements of the up-coming MSL mission. Although comparable in many facets, such as being required to operate over a wide temperature range (-20 to 40 C), the MSL mission has more demanding performance requirements compared to the MER mission, including much longer mission duration (approx. 687 sols vs. 90 sols), higher power capability, and the need to withstand higher temperature excursions. In addition, due to the larger rover size, the MSL mission necessitates the use of a much larger battery to meet the energy, life, and power requirements. In order to determine the viability of meeting these requirements, a number of performance verification tests were performed on 10 Ah Yardney lithium-ion cells (MER design) under MSL-relevant conditions, including mission surface operation simulation testing. In addition, the performance of on-going ground life testing of 10 Ah MER cells and 8-cell batteries will be discussed in the context of capacity loss and impedance growth predictions.
Document ID
20150014778
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Conference Paper
External Source(s)
Authors
Smart, M.C.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Ratnakumar, B.V.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Whitcanack, L. D.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Dewell, E. A.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Jones, L. E.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Salvo, C. G.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Puglia, F. J.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Cohen, S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Gitzendanner, R.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 3, 2015
Publication Date
July 28, 2008
Subject Category
Energy Production And Conversion
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference
Location: Cleveland, OH
Country: United States
Start Date: July 28, 2008
End Date: July 30, 2008
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
MSL Rover

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