Mission interplanetary: Using radioisotope power to explore the solar system

Abstract

The exploration of space both by humans and robots has been greatly enhanced and, in many cases, enabled by the use of radioisotope power sources (RPSs) to power and/or heat scientific instruments. Radioisotope power sources have enabled such breakthrough missions as the Pioneer flights to Jupiter, Saturn and beyond; the Voyager flights to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and beyond; the Apollo lunar surface experiments; the Viking Lander studies of Mars; the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter; the Ulysses mission to study the polar regions of the Sun; the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn; and the recently launched New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto. Radioisotope heater units have enhanced or enabled the Apollo Early Scientific Experiment Package and the Mars exploration rover missions (Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity). Since 1961, the United States has successfully flown 41 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) to provide electrical power for 23 space missions.