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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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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
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
An American Superconductor free-piston Stirling Convertor.
American Superconductor Free-Piston Stirling Convertor
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
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
This high-resolution color photo of the surface of Mars was taken by Viking Lander 2 at its Utopia Planitia landing site on May 18, 1979.
Martian Frost
MMRTG Dragonfly Mission: An illustration of the planned Dragonfly mission.
Illustration of the Planned Dragonfly Mission
The spinning vortex of Saturn's north polar storm resembles a deep red rose of giant proportions surrounded by green foliage in this false-color image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
Saturn: The Rose
An enhanced color picture shows asteroid Ida and its moon, Dactyl.
Ida and Dactyl in Enhanced Color
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
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
A stack of GPHS units ready for insertion on F2, the MMRTG that would power the Curiosity Rover.
GPHS Units Ready for Insertion
Video taken by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover shows some of the terrain the rover had to negotiate during its drive to the delta at Jezero Crater in April 2022.
AutoNav Drives Perseverance Forward
This self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (...
Curiosity Rover Self-Portrait
A picture of Neptune was produced images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Neptune Full Disk View
Astronaut Alan Bean prepares the RTG to be fueled.
Fueling the RTG on the Moon (image 2)
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
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
Covered in a thick global haze, Saturn's moon Titan is a major source of interest for planetary scientists.
Seeing the surface of Titan
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
This image is the first panoramic view of the Martian surface, taken by the Viking 1 lander.
First Mars Panorama
DRPS illustration of the Flexure Isotope Stirling Convertor system from American Superconductor.
Flexure Isotope Stirling Convertor System (illustration)
Graphite Impact Shell (GIS).
Graphite Impact Shell (GIS)
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
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While the spacecraft continues to return science data and otherwise operate as normal, the mission team is searching for the source of a system data issue.
Engineers Investigating NASA's Voyager 1 Telemetry Data
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
