Disagreement Arises About Plutonium-238 Shortage

摘要

NASA's worries about running out of plutonium by the middle of the next decade are premature, according to a senior U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) official. The U.S. space agency has three missions planned between 2009 and 2017 that call for long-lasting spacecraft batteries that convert heat from decaying plutonium-238 into electricity that is used to power instruments and other electronics. The batteries, known as radioisotope power systems, are considered critical for space missions bound for the outer planets of the solar system where sunlight is insufficient for solar arrays to provide a spacecraft with sufficient power.