Low mass radiation shielding for Martian surface power reactors

This paper describes the results of a trade study to define a low mass radiation shield for a small Martian surface power reactor. The shielding effort was part of a larger effort to develop a conceptual design for a 3 kWe nuclear electric power system that has a mass which is significantly less than 1000 kg. This effort was sponsored by the Department of Energy’s (NE-50) Special Purpose Fission Technology (SPFT) program. The shield is capable of keeping the 1 MeV equivalent silicon fluence to less than 1×1015 nvt over the 5-year lifetime of the reactor system. The gamma dose is kept below 10 MRad silicon.This paper describes the results of a trade study to define a low mass radiation shield for a small Martian surface power reactor. The shielding effort was part of a larger effort to develop a conceptual design for a 3 kWe nuclear electric power system that has a mass which is significantly less than 1000 kg. This effort was sponsored by the Department of Energy’s (NE-50) Special Purpose Fission Technology (SPFT) program. The shield is capable of keeping the 1 MeV equivalent silicon fluence to less than 1×1015 nvt over the 5-year lifetime of the reactor system. The gamma dose is kept below 10 MRad silicon.