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Radioisotope Power Systems
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Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
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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
An enhanced color picture shows asteroid Ida and its moon, Dactyl.
Ida and Dactyl in Enhanced Color
At equinox, the shadows of the planet's expansive rings are compressed into a single, narrow band cast onto the planet as seen in this mosaic.
Changing Seasons on Saturn
The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator for NASA'S Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is shown during a fit check with the rover at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 16-17, ...
Rover Power System
This iconic image was taken by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft from a distance of almost 4 billion miles from Earth. From Voyager's great distance, Earth is a mere point of light, less than the size of...
Earth as a 'Pale Blue Dot'
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
The boulder-strewn field of red rocks reaches to the horizon nearly two miles from Viking 2 on Mars' Utopian Plain.
Viking 2 at Utopia Planitia
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
An American Superconductor free-piston Stirling Convertor.
American Superconductor Free-Piston Stirling Convertor
An illustration of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft.
Artist Concept of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft
A Multi-Hundred Watt RTG.
Multi-Hundred Watt RTG
Huygens probe following its successful descent to Saturn's smog-enshrouded moon, Titan.
First Color View of Titan's Surface
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 Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package, ALSEP, was a collection of geophysical instruments designed to continue to monitor the environment of each Apollo landing site.
RPS 60th: ALSEP Shareable
Illustration of Cassini flyng by the planet Venus.
Cassini Fly Past Venus - Illustration
DRPS illustration of Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor system from Sunpower, Inc.
Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor (illustration)
NASA's newest arrival on Mars, Perseverance will be collecting rock samples that a future mission will return to Earth.
RPS 60th: Mars Perseverance Rover Shareable
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has delivered a glorious view of Saturn, taken while the spacecraft was in Saturn's shadow. The cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings ...
A Splendor Seldom Seen
The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before.
RPS 60th: Voyager Shareable
This series of images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the development of the largest storm seen on the planet since 1990.
Chronicling Saturn's Northern Storm
There are no gas stations or mechanics in deep space. So, if you want the power to perform science in the deep, dark frontiers of our solar system, you must have an engine that is reliable for the...
Testing Maintenance-Free Engines That Power Science in Deep Space
The electricity for NASA's Mars 2020 rover is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG. The MMRTG will be inserted into the aft end of the r...
Power for Mars 2020
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
This panorama, taken on Feb. 20, 2021, by the Navigation Cameras, or Navcams, aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, was stitched together from six individual images after they were sent back to Ea...
Perseverance Navcams 360-Degree Panorama
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The rocks Perseverance has analyzed for sample collection are helping the team better understand a past marked by volcanic activity and water.
NASA's Perseverance Rover Collects Puzzle Pieces of Mars' History
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 Sources Sought Notice seeks capabilities, innovative ideas for new system development, fiscal estimates, and potential collaboration that could lead to an industry/Government contract for development of a Dynamic Radioisotope Power System (DRPS) for use on the moon with desired extensibility to other solar system destinations.
Dynamic Radioisotope Power Systems Sources Sought Notice has been Released
Humanity's first and (so far) last visit to the outermost giant planet in our solar system was a monumental event for scientists and the public alike.
Power for Decades: Radioisotope Generator Helps Voyager 2 Keep Exploring 30 Years After Neptune Flyby
Two NASA scientists studying next-generation thermoelectric materials and converters for applications to radioisotope power systems have been awarded the 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award by the International Thermoelectric Society for their decades-long leadership and contributions to the field.
International Thermoelectric Society Honors Two NASA Scientists for Contributions to Advancements in Radioisotope Power Technology
NASA gives the go-ahead to fuel the Mars 2020 rover's Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, which will power rover and help keep it warm while exploring Mars.
Fueling of NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Power System Begins
