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Radioisotope Power Systems
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Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
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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
An illustration of Cassini at Saturn.
Illustration of Cassini at Saturn
The expanse of Jezero Crater’s river delta is shown in this panorama of 64 stitched-together images taken by the Mastcam-Z system on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover on April 11, 2022.
Jezero Crater's Delta Is Getting Closer
An illustration of NASA's Pioneer 11 flying by Jupiter.
Pioneer 11 at Jupiter (Illustration)
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
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
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
This image is the first panoramic view of the Martian surface, taken by the Viking 1 lander.
First Mars Panorama
A Multi-Hundred Watt RTG.
Multi-Hundred Watt RTG
An improved, color enhanced version of the 360-degree Gallery Pan taken by Mars Pathfinder in 1997.
Mars Pathfinder Panorama
This color image, acquired by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997 on its ninth orbit around Jupiter, shows two volcanic plumes erupting on Io.
Active Volcanic Plumes on Io
This mosaic of images from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows Mount Sharp in raw color as recorded by the camera.
Aeolis Mons Panorama
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
An American Superconductor free-piston Stirling Convertor.
American Superconductor Free-Piston Stirling Convertor
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
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
This image of the parachute that helped deliver NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover to the Martian surface was taken by the rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument on April 6, 2022, the 401st Martian day, or sol, ...
Perseverance Views Its Parachute
Astronaut Alan Bean prepares the RTG to be fueled.
Fueling the RTG on the Moon (image 1)
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
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'
Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida perform a fit check between the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and its Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator on April 16-17, 2020.
Fitting the Rover's Power System
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
A color image of Arrakoth taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
Enhanced-Color Composite Image of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth (2014 MU69)
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
An illustration of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft.
Artist Concept of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft
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NASA’s second Power to Explore Challenge inspires learning about how radioisotope power systems help us explore the extremes of our solar system. Credit: NASA/Gayle Dibiasio (ATS)
NASA Launches Power to Explore Challenge for K-12 Students
Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) have provided the power to explore some of the deepest, darkest, and most distant destinations in the solar system and beyond. Voyager 1 is NASA’s furthest traveled spacecraft, and its science mission has been enabled by RPS for 45 years.
NASA Celebrates 45 Years of Voyager 1, Enabled by Radioisotope Power
Celebrating 45 years of Voyager I and II in space
Voyager, NASA's Longest-Lived Mission, Logs 45 Years in Space
A team of scientists and engineers sponsored by NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program won the American Nuclear Society’s 2022 Best Radioisotope Power Paper award. The society made the announcement following the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space (NETS) conference, held May 8-12 in Cleveland.
Silicon-Germanium Unicouple Paper Wins Best Radioisotope Power Paper Award
NASA used augmented reality to give STEM students a real-world mission planning experience.
NASA Uses Technology to Give Students an Out-of-this-World Experience
10 Years Since Landing, NASA's RPS-Powered Curiosity Mars Rover Still Has Drive
10 Years Since Landing, NASA's RPS-Powered Curiosity Mars Rover Still Has Drive
