What's this piece on the Apollo LM?

[bigdad84]

So, I bought a Dragon replica model of the Apollo 16 LM, Rover, and CSM. I was looking closely at the LM today and noticed this piece

What did it do?

[andrewas]

Its the RTG Cask - it stored the fuel element for the radiothermal generator during flight.

[Josh Harris]

The RTGs powered the Lunar surface experiments left by the crew. They are somewhat controversial for their use in spaceflight (due to concerns about a launch failure contaminating a crash site). However without them deep space exploration beyond Jupiter would be very difficult.

[bigdad84]

Thanks guys for your input!

If you're ever looking for models, I would highly recommend these Dragon models

Edited December 24, 2013 by bigdad84