The Nuclear Heart of Cassini - Department of Energy
WEBRTGs are lightweight, compact spacecraft electrical power systems that have flown successfully on 23 previous U.S. missions over the past 37 years. Cassini’s RTGs contained plutonium from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in …
Plutonium-238 - Wikipedia
WEBPlutonium-238 (238 Pu or Pu-238) is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years. Plutonium-238 is a very powerful alpha emitter ; as alpha particles are easily blocked, this makes the plutonium-238 isotope suitable for usage in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and radioisotope heater units .
Cassini's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) - Science@NASA
WEBRadioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) provide electrical power to spacecraft using heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238, in the form of plutonium oxide. The large difference in temperature between this hot fuel and the cold environment of space is applied across special solid-state metallic junctions called ...
Plutonium-238 and Cassini | Science - AAAS
WEBPlutonium-238-powered isotopic generators supplied the electricity that allowed Cassini's data gathering and transmission. Without Pu-238 sources, there would have been no Cassini. Yet, Cassini was almost scrubbed because activists tried …
National Labs resume plutonium production for space exploration
WEBSep 3, 2020 · At the heart of these two spacecraft – providing electricity to the computers, spectrometers, magnetometers, radiometers and other subsystems that help the Voyagers fulfill their respective missions – are radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) powered by plutonium-238 (Pu-238).
'OK. Let’s do it!' An oral history of how NASA's Cassini mission to ...
WEBSep 12, 2017 · Originally conceived in the early 1980s, Cassini and its companion Huygens lander contended with debilitating budget cuts, narrowly escaped cancellation more than once, and faced last-minute...
A Billion Miles Under Nuclear Energy
WEBSep 11, 2017 · Cassini carries 72.3 pounds of plutonium-238, in a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG). When it was launched on its billion-mile trip, the plutonium put out enough heat to be converted into 878 watts of electricity—about two-thirds of what a hair dryer draws, but sufficient to run the instruments and radios.
NASA Struggles over Deep-Space Plutonium Power
WEBSep 10, 2015 · Hefty hunks of Pu-238 power the Mars Curiosity rover, the Cassini orbiter at Saturn and the New Horizons spacecraft now roaming beyond Pluto.
About Plutonium-238 - Science@NASA
WEBFeb 7, 2024 · Plutonium-238 is a special material that emits steady heat due to its natural radioactive decay. Several unique features of plutonium-238 have made it the material of choice to help produce electrical power for spacecraft.
WEBTo produce electricity, the Cassini mission uses three RTG units. Each unit produces 296 watts of electricity from the decay of the element plutonium-238. Problem 1 – The formula K = 273+(F-32)/1.8 is used to convert a temperature from degrees Fahrenheit to kelvins.
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