Ontario Power Generation and its venture arm, Canadian Nuclear Partners, announced March 1 that they are part of a project to produce isotopes in support of deep space exploration. Under the agreement, OPG would help create isotopes at the Darlington nuclear station east of Toronto that will help power space probes.
OPG explains that all deep space exploration projects are powered by one of plutonium’s isotopes, Pu 238. These include the Voyager 1 and 2 (both launched in 1977 and now in interstellar space); the Curiosity Rover currently on Mars; and the Mars 2020 Rover. Plutonium 238 emits steady heat due to its natural radioactive decay. The heat generated decreases slowly in a highly predictable manner and can be harnessed into electric energy onboard a space ship. In addition, the heat keeps scientific instruments warm enough to function in space. However, Pu238 cannot sustain a nuclear fission reaction and therefore cannot be used as a fuel in a nuclear reactor or in a nuclear weapon.
Production at the Darlington station will help boost a dwindling global supply of the material.
OPG is seeking approvals to have isotope production begin by 2020.
"This is a very exciting project," said Jeff Lyash, OPG President and CEO. "No pursuit pushes the boundaries of our scientific and technical limits like space travel. We are proud to have Ontario play a part, however small, in this most noble of human endeavours."
Lyash noted that OPG employs a similar isotope process in its Pickering units to create Cobalt 60 for use in the sterilization of surgical and medical supplies.