Empire Magnetics&#039 Motors Pass Six-Month Continuous Duty Use Test at Cryogenic Temperatures

Empire Magnetics' cryogenic motors have been tested by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for continuous duty at cryogenic temperatures. The testing conditions were in one atmosphere nitrogen at approximately 110 K (-163 °C).

The motors operated nearly continuously at 60 RPM, about the speed that JPL expects the aerobot/blimp propeller motors to operate at on an actual mission, for six months. The surface of Titan is believed to be partially covered by liquid methane/ethane oceans.

"We are performing some advanced technology development and assessment at JPL to determine what technology needs are required for a six month aerobot/blimp mission in the thick, cold nitrogen atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan," says Jack Jones, Principal Engineer of Advanced Thermal and Mobility Technologies at JPL. "We investigated other types of cryogenic motors that operate at higher speed, but the gear boxes could not survive this long."