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Radioisotope Power Systems
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Voyager RTG
3D model of Voyager's RTG
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-- 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
This illustration lists RHU-heated and RTG-powered spacecraft and the many moons and planets they have visited.
60th Anniversary: NASA's RHU-Heated and RTG-Powered Spacecraft
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 video shows the first 360-degree view of the landing site of NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars, as captured by the rover’s color Navigation Cameras.
NASA'S Perseverance Rover's First 360 View of Mars (Official)
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
Scientist for a Day is an essay contest that challenges students in grades 5-12 to think like scientists.
Scientist for a Day Flyer - 2020-21
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
Space exploration missions require safe, reliable, long-lived power systems to provide electricity and heat to spacecraft and their science instruments. - Updated: May 2020
Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG)
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
There are no gas stations or power outlets in space. That's why NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars—and some other NASA spacecraft that explore the solar system—use something called "radioisotope power."
Spacecraft Power
Ensuring the safety of launch-site workers and the general public in the communities surrounding the launch area is the primary consideration in this planning.
Mars Science Laboratory Launch Contingency Planning
Like a steady campfire that warms intrepid hikers in a remote forest, radioisotope heater units (RHUs) help bring dependable heat to wherever it’s needed for missions bound for the coldest corners ...
Radioisotope Heater Units
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
3D Model of one of Cassini's RTGs
Cassini RTG
This video contains highlights of Space Shuttle mission STS-34, which launched the radioisotope-enabled Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter.
Galileo Launch and Deployment
The first photograph ever taken on the surface of the planet Mars. It was obtained by Viking 1 just minutes after the spacecraft landed successfully landing on Mars in July 1976.
First Picture From the Surface of Mars
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie over a rock nicknamed "Rochette," on September 10, 2021, the 198th Martian day, or sol of the mission.
Perseverance's Selfie at Rochette
3D model of Curiosity's RTG
Curiosity RTG
There are no gas stations or power outlets in space. That's why NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars—and some other NASA spacecraft that explore the solar system—use something called "radioisotope power."
Spacecraft Power (2016) - Archival
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
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July 2020.
Mars 2020 Launch Nuclear Safety
An improved, color enhanced version of the 360-degree Gallery Pan taken by Mars Pathfinder in 1997.
Mars Pathfinder 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
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
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
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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
