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Radioisotope Power Systems
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2015-2016 Scientist for a Day Intro
Which target should you pick? It's up to you!
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If you are a K-12 student in the United States, your challenge is to dream up a new RPS-powered space mission and tell NASA all about it in 200 words or less.
Power to Explore Student Essay Contest 2024
Algunas de las misiones más atrevidas y emocionantes de la NASA de exploración de nuestro sistema solar se han hecho realidad gracias a un descubrimiento de hace 200 años.
¿Cómo funciona un generador termoeléctrico de radioisótopos? El efecto Seebeck (Video)
A single RHU passively radiates about one watt of heat. When placed carefully aboard a spacecraft or inside a rover, the heat compensates for cold temperatures in beyond Earth.
What are Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs)?
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2022. Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032
Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032
Six decades after the launch of the first nuclear-powered space mission, Transit IV-A, NASA is embarking on a bold future of human exploration and scientific discovery.
After 60 Years, Nuclear Power for Spaceflight is Still Tried and True
This is the first 360-degree panorama taken by Mastcam-Z, a zoomable pair of cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. The panorama was stitched together on Earth from 142 individual images ta...
Mastcam-Z's First 360-Degree Panorama
The objective of this study1 is to discuss a sustainable strategy and present findings for the provisioning of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear power systems that enable NASA missions.
Nuclear Power Assessment Study - Final Report
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This shipment of 0.5 kilograms (a little over 1 pound) of new heat source plutonium oxide is the largest since the domestic restart of plutonium-238 production over a decade ago.
NASA One Step Closer to Fueling Space Missions with Plutonium-238
NASA has officially launched its third Power to Explore Student Challenge.
NASA Seeks Students to Imagine Nuclear Powered Space Missions
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.
STEM Essay Contest Winners Earn Close-Encounter Visit to NASA
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft plans to observe Uranus and Neptune from its location far out in the outer solar system this fall.
All Eyes on the Ice Giants
The question of how Saturn developed its brilliant rings is still very much an engaging and open question.
All That Glitters: Saturn's Rings Estimated to Be "Young"
NASA selected three winners out of nine finalists in the second annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for elementary through high school students featuring the power of radioisotopes for space exploration.
NASA Announces Student Winners of Power to Explore Challenge
