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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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A false-color view, processed to reveal subtleties in the brightness of the overall plume that comprises the jets.
Jets of Enceladus
Astronaut Alan Bean prepares the RTG to be fueled.
Fueling the RTG on the Moon (image 1)
Neptune's largest moon Triton, is seen in this mosaic of images captured by Voyager 2 during the only visit thus far to the Neptune system.
Voyager's view of Triton
-- 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
Illustration of Cassini flyng by the planet Venus.
Cassini Fly Past Venus - Illustration
This view of Jupiter's moon Io was captured by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
Changing Surface of Io
An enhanced color picture shows asteroid Ida and its moon, Dactyl.
Ida and Dactyl in Enhanced Color
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
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
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
This map of Mars shows the landing sites of all NASA RTG-powered Mars rovers and landers as of 2021.
Mars Landing Sites for Landers and Rovers Powered by Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators
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
Thermal energy researchers Wayne Wong (left) and Scott Wilson, inspect a Stirling power convertor that has been running continuously for 14-years.
Inspecting a Stirling Power Convertor
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
A color image of Arrakoth taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
Enhanced-Color Composite Image of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth (2014 MU69)
An illustration of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft.
Artist Concept of the planned Dragonfly spacecraft
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
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
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
A display model of the GPHS module.
GPHS Module (Display model)
An illustration of the three topics and the photos of the winners of the 2019-2020 NASA Scientist for a Day Essay Contest
Winners of the 2019-2020 Scientist for a Day Contest
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
Graphite Impact Shell (GIS).
Graphite Impact Shell (GIS)
Reddish spots and shallow pits pepper the enigmatic ridged surface of Jupiter's moon Europa in this view from NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
Ruddy "Freckles" on Europa
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
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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
NASA selected 9 finalists out of the 45 semi-finalists student essays in the Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes.
NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge
NASA has selected 45 semi-finalist of the Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes.
NASA Names Semi-Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge
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
