NASA
Radioisotope Power Systems
Skip Navigation
menu
close modal
Resources
Multi-Hundred Watt RTG
A Multi-Hundred Watt RTG.
Credit
NASA/DOE
ENLARGE
Related
This image shows the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator for NASA'S Mars 2020 Perseverance rover during a fit check at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 16-17, 2020.
Testing Rover Power System
An improved, color enhanced version of the 360-degree Gallery Pan taken by Mars Pathfinder in 1997.
Mars Pathfinder Panorama
Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
Asteroid Ida and its moon Dactyl. Scientists found the moon - the first discovered orbiting and asteroid - when the Galileo spacecraft flew past Ida in 1993.
Ida and Dactyl
Part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, Curiosity launched Nov. 26, 2011 and landed on Mars at 10:32 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012.
RPS 60th: Mars Curiosity Rover Shareable
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, including its Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, is shown on sol 108 of its mission in this image.
NASA's Perseverance Near the Rim of Adziilii Crater
This map of Mars shows the landing sites of all NASA RTG-powered Mars rovers and landers as of 2021.
Mars Landing Sites for Landers and Rovers Powered by Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators
Launched on June 29, 1961, Transit IV-A was the first satellite to carry a radioisotope power system into space.
RPS 60th: Transit IV-A Shareable
The first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully landing on Mars in July 1976.
First Picture From the Surface of Mars
This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (...
Curiosity Rover Self-Portrait
NASA's Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft looked back to see Jupiter as a thinning crescent 17 days after its closest approach to the giant planet.
A Farewell to Jupiter
Huygens probe following its successful descent to Saturn's smog-enshrouded moon, Titan.
First Color View of Titan's Surface
This marvelous panoramic view was created by combining a total of 165 images taken by the Cassini wide-angle camera over nearly three hours on Sept. 15, 2006.
In Saturn's Shadow
-- Updated as of March 2021 Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) have provided the power to explore, discover, and understand our solar system and beyond. This graphic shows the type and destinations ...
Flyby, Orbit, Rove, and Land
A false-color view, processed to reveal subtleties in the brightness of the overall plume that comprises the jets.
Jets of Enceladus
Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, propelled into space on a Titan/Centaur rocket.
Voyager 2 Launch
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
Perseverance Looks Back at Wheel Tracks
Humanity's most sophisticated rover launched at 7:50 a.m. EDT on July 30th on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Mars Perseverance Launches
A color image of Arrakoth taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
Enhanced-Color Composite Image of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth (2014 MU69)
This illustration lists RHU-heated and RTG-powered spacecraft and the many moons and planets they have visited.
NASA's RHU-Heated and RTG-Powered Spacecraft
Dragonfly is a NASA rotorcraft lander mission that will explore the chemistry and habitability of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
RPS 60th: Dragonfly Mission to Titan Shareable
MMRTG Dragonfly Mission: An illustration of the planned Dragonfly mission.
Illustration of the Planned Dragonfly Mission
The Cassini Division within Saturn's rings is visible through backyard telescopes on Earth as a dark, seemingly empty region. The division actually contains a great deal of structure.
Graceful Lanes of Ice
Covered in a thick global haze, Saturn's moon Titan is a major source of interest for planetary scientists.
Seeing the surface of Titan
An illustration of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft.
Artist Concept of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft
You Might Also Like
After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence
NASA's Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth
NASA announced the winners on Wednesday of the third annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition designed to teach K-12 students about the power of radioisotopes for space exploration.
NASA Announces Winners of Power to Explore Challenge
Discovery also suggests more possible targets for a distant future spacecraft flyby.
NASA's New Horizons Detects Dusty Hints of Extended Kuiper Belt
NASA has selected the nine finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes.
NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge
NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes.
NASA Announces Semifinalists of Power to Explore Challenge
NASA has officially launched its third Power to Explore Student Challenge.
NASA Seeks Students to Imagine Nuclear Powered Space Missions