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DOE Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at the Secretary's Honor Awards Ceremony, held virtually for the first time. Credit: Jaimee Janiga, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy
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The Perseverance rover uses plutonium-238 to charge its batteries and power its instruments as it gathers data on Mars. ORNL-produced Pu-238 -- the first produced in the U.S. in more than 30 years -- is on board, as are other ORNL-produced components. Credit: NASA
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Gretchen Toney and Devin Johnson stand with a computer-controlled orbital welder, in a glovebox, that has sped up the process of welding targets for plutonium-238 production, as well as improving consistency and efficiency. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
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DOE Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at the Secretary's Honor Awards Ceremony, held virtually for the first time. Credit: Jaimee Janiga, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy
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The Perseverance rover uses plutonium-238 to charge its batteries and power its instruments as it gathers data on Mars. ORNL-produced Pu-238 -- the first produced in the U.S. in more than 30 years -- is on board, as are other ORNL-produced components. Credit: NASA
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Gretchen Toney and Devin Johnson stand with a computer-controlled orbital welder, in a glovebox, that has sped up the process of welding targets for plutonium-238 production, as well as improving consistency and efficiency. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
The Department of Energy has recognized ORNL and others with a high-level award for their roles in making possible the Perseverance Rover that launched to Mars last year.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Radioisotope Power Systems Team received the Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy’s Achievement Award Jan. 12 at the Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards Ceremony, held virtually for the first time ever.
“This award is our highest form of internal recognition,” DOE Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in her opening remarks. “It acknowledges employees who have made significant and lasting contributions to DOE. These folks help DOE live up to its reputation as America’s solutions department.”
The award, which spanned five pages of names, recognized ORNL for both plutonium-238 production efforts and special component manufacturing, also lauding Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and other supporting national labs and industry partners.
“I think this is beyond rocket science,” joked Under Secretary for Science and Energy Dr. Geraldine Richmond, after noting the team exceeded expectations, coming in at more than $13 million under budget and two months ahead of schedule — during a global pandemic.
“COVID presented some challenges,” said Bob Wham, Pu-238 Supply Program manager. “One thing that we had going for us was that a lot of work on Perseverance happened before 2020 and COVID.”
Pu-238, in pellet form, produces heat converted to electricity by the rover’s multimission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which moves the rover and power the instruments it uses on Mars’ surface.
In 2015, ORNL began the first new U.S. production of Pu-238 in nearly 30 years, and the lab has been consistently increasing Pu-238 production capabilities with an eventual goal of producing 1.5 kilograms per year. In addition, ORNL produced the rover’s iridium alloy clad vent sets, which contain the Pu-238 fuel, as well as the carbon-bonded carbon fiber insulation that surrounds the vent sets.
Wham said that because of limited space, even the five pages of names shown at the ceremony didn’t give a complete picture of everyone who worked on the project.
“I’m proud of all the people here at the lab who helped contribute to this award,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t done by one person – it was a lot of people. We had a good team.”
Besides Wham, ORNL-connected employees who worked on that team include Porter Bailey, Glynn Baird, Bruce Bates, Brent Beatty, Dennis Benker, Nathan Bishop, Eric Bowling, Phil Burke, Chris Bryan, Doug Canaan, Cecil Carmichael, Ashli Clark, Mike Clark, Jordan Couch, Greg Cox, Steve Cox, Jeff Delashmitt, Laetitia Delmau, Dave DePaoli, Cory Dryman, Sergio Dukes, John Dyer, Tony Dyer, Kevin Felker, Alan Frederick, Brian Friske, Nidia Gallego, Tom Geer, Easo George, Lori Gorman, Daniel Grant, Joshua Greene, Charles Grimm, Joseph Guy, Kevin Hanson, Leroy Hicks, Steven Hinds, Riley Hunley, Bryson Hutchison, Tom Hylton, Chris Jensen, Doug Kyle, Tom Lecomte, Steve Lyles, William Matisiak, Catherine Mattus, Michael McAlister, Joanna McFarlane, Donny McInturff, Jeremy McKinney, Kenny McNabb, Howard Meadows, Mike Medley, Greg Miller, Jim Miller, Roger Miller, Billy Moore, Bob Morris, Govindarajan Muralidharan, Tom Muth, Allison Neal, Jessica Osborn, Kaara Patton, John Partridge, Dean Pierce, Curt Porter, Jeff Pryor, Matthew Reasor, Kevin Redden, Frank Riley, Ben Roach, Shannon Roddy, Glenn Romanoski, Ben Rothrock, Steve Sherman, Allen Smith, Rodney Smith, Nick Sullivan, Gretchen Toney, George Ulrich, Rex Veach, Ray Vedder, Eric Vidal, Bruce Walker, Roger Weaver, Chris Wightman, Denny Wilson and Al Wolff.
View the entire awards ceremony at Secretary's Honor Awards (S4 Ceremony).
