Skip Navigation
menu close modal

Resources

Whiteboard video - 2020 version

What Powers a Spacecraft? There are no gas stations or power outlets in space! That's why NASA spacecraft that explore the solar system use something called "radioisotope power." Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download video ›

Related

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.
More
Two young girls and boys dressed as old fashioned space engineers (white short-sleeved shirt and skinny black ties) outline a student essay content in this whimsical video.
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.
More
Ahora llamamos a este proceso de producción de electricidad el “efecto Seebeck”.
¿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.
More
This explanatory video uses mostly artist's concepts of spacecraft at work in deep space thanks to radioisotope heating units.
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
More
Decadal Survey cover: 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. 
More
video with images and animations covering major NASA missions in the last 60 years
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...
More
360-degree panorama of Jazero Crater on Mars
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.
More
Assessment Study - Final Report Final report on a sustainable strategy for safe, reliable and affordable nuclear power systems for space exploration.
Nuclear Power Assessment Study - Final Report

You Might Also Like