slide 1 - A boy and two girls, all smiles, winners of the NASA essay contest.

STEM Essay Contest Winners Earn Close-Encounter Visit to NASA

Three student winners of NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge journeyed behind the scenes at NASA's Glenn Research Center after drafting the top papers in the national STEM essay contest. Read More ›

slide 2 - A blue orb covered in featureless light blue clouds.

RPS-Enabled Missions

All Eyes on the Ice Giants

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft plans to observe Uranus and Neptune from its location far out in the outer solar system this fall. Read More ›

slide 3 - An astronaut is carrying equipment on the Moon. The image is light by a bright sunburst and lens flare that give it an unearthly feel.

Timeline

Powering Science

Find out how RPS power generates science on some of the most ambitious space exploration missions - including Apollo. Explore the Timeline ›

slide 4 - Full view of Saturn and it's rings from above. The angle reveals the shadow of the planet draped across its rings.

All That Glitters: Saturn's Rings Estimated to Be "Young"

Cassini's long-lived time in orbit enabled an entirely new view of how and when Saturn's rings formed. Read More ›

slide 5 - Compter-generated view of Voyager's position in space in May 2023. The Sun at this distance is about the size of a tip of a felt tip pen.

NASA's Voyager Will Do More Science With New Power Strategy

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft is more than 12 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) from Earth. The aging spacecraft has begun using a small reservoir of backup power set aside as part of an onboard safety mechanism. The move will enable the mission to postpone shutting down one of its five operating science instrument until 2026. Read More ›

STEM Essay Contest Winners Earn Close-Encounter Visit to NASA

RPS-Enabled Missions

All Eyes on the Ice Giants

Timeline

Powering Science

All That Glitters: Saturn's Rings Estimated to Be "Young"

NASA's Voyager Will Do More Science With New Power Strategy

New Horizons: Mission Elapsed Time

News and Features

Why RPS?

Power and Thermal Systems

Technology

Missions

Why RPS?

For more than five decades, radioisotope power systems have played a critical role in the exploration of space, enabling missions of scientific discovery to destinations across the solar system. › More

Power and Thermal Systems

Technology

Missions

MMRTG Mission Planner Data Package

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Missions

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