Infinity Avionics looks to radioisotopes for space

Smart sensor manufacturer Infinity Avionics has been contracted by entX Limited to design and manufacture parts of their Radioisotope Heater Unit (RHU) Demonstrator Payload designed to provide heat to spacecraft during the lunar night.

An RHU is a novel thermal solution for interplanetary space missions that will revolutionise future rover and lander missions, with Infinity to support development of its Payload Management Unit (PMU).

The Technical Manager – Space & Defence of entX Jake Whittenbury said: “Leveraging the extensive expertise of Infinity Avionics across space electronics, systems design, and manufacturing was a strategic decision that substantially mitigated risk and accelerated the development of our RHU Demonstrator Payload.”

Infinity Avionics customises smart sensor solutions for various space applications, comprising a fusion of optics, detectors, electronics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while entX is a specialised Australian nuclear engineering company.

Initially powered by short half-life radioisotopes for heat generation, entX’s base-level RHU enables Lunar night survival for several weeks to a few months, whilst the top-tier version ensures up to four years of survivability.

Heat generation is crucial for sustaining operation of electronics in the cold environment of space— a challenge recently highlighted by NASA, with Lunar night survival being identified as the top priority among the Civil Space Shortfall ranking.

entX’s RHU development was initially supported by the Australian Space Agency through a Moon to Mars Demonstrator Feasibility Grant, with the demonstration payload part of the Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications, and Hypersonics (iLAuNCH) Trailblazer programme, in collaboration with the University of South Australia (UniSA) and Moonlode.

The RHU development successfully passed its Critical Design Review (CDR) in September.

Infinity Avionics is also looking to offer its solutions to Australia’s first rover, the Australian Space Agency’s Trailblazer Lunar Roo-ver, currently in competition between the AROSE and ELO2 consortia.

Whilst the Roo-ver is not expected to survive Lunar night, it’s a stepping stone to shaping technologies that will.

Further reading:
iLAuNCH announces two new projects with energy tech company entX

Picture: Infinity Avionics