Astronomy12h
Inside radioisotope generators, the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft
How do we power missions in the outer reaches of our solar system and beyond? The solution, developed in the '60s, can last ...
Times Union4d
Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft
The radioactive decay of plutonium-238 releases enough energy that it can glow red from its own heat, and it is this powerful heat that is the energy source to power an RTG. Heat as power ...