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Radioisotope Power Systems
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Multi-Hundred Watt RTG
A Multi-Hundred Watt RTG.
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NASA/DOE
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The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before.
RPS 60th: Voyager Shareable
Encircled in purple stratospheric haze, Titan appears as a softly glowing sphere in this colorized image taken one day after Cassini's first flyby of the moon on July 2, 2004.
Titan's Haze
A mosaic was created from two high-resolution images that were captured by the narrow-angle camera when NASA's Cassini spacecraft flew past Enceladus
Geysers of Enceladus
Astronaut Alan Bean prepares the RTG to be fueled.
Fueling the RTG on the Moon (image 2)
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
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
A montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007.
Jupiter-Io Montage
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'
This picture of asteroid Gaspra is a mosaic of two images taken by the Galileo spacecraft in 1991, during the first close approach of a spacecraft to an asteroid.
First Close Approach to an Asteroid
-- Updated as of March 2021 Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) have provided the power to explore, discover, and understand our solar system and beyond. This graphic shows the type and destinations ...
Flyby, Orbit, Rove, and Land
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
Launched on June 29, 1961, Transit IV-A was the first satellite to carry a radioisotope power system into space.
RPS 60th: Transit IV-A Shareable
DRPS illustration of Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor system from Sunpower, Inc.
Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor (illustration)
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
Covered in a thick global haze, Saturn's moon Titan is a major source of interest for planetary scientists.
Seeing the surface of Titan
MMRTG Dragonfly Mission: An illustration of the planned Dragonfly mission.
Illustration of the Planned Dragonfly Mission
A picture of Neptune was produced images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Neptune Full Disk View
This montage shows a series of views from the European Space Agency's Huygens probe at four different altitudes as it descended to the surface of Saturn's moon Titan in 2005.
Huygens's Descent to Titan
A color view is a Viking 2 Lander close-up of the surface of Mars. The metal cylinder at right is the shroud (or cover) for the surface
Viking Lander Trenches
Astronaut Alan Bean prepares the RTG to be fueled.
Fueling the RTG on the Moon (image 1)
New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006, and it conducted a six-month-long reconnaissance flyby study of Pluto and its moons in 2015, culminating with Pluto closest approach on July 14, 2015.
RPS 60th: New Horizons Shareable
An improved, color enhanced version of the 360-degree Gallery Pan taken by Mars Pathfinder in 1997.
Mars Pathfinder Panorama
A color image of Arrakoth taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
Enhanced-Color Composite Image of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth (2014 MU69)
Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
Non-NASA RPS Missions Fleet Chart
This view of Jupiter's moon Io was captured by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
Changing Surface of Io
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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
