NASA and the British University of Leicester have carried out successful tests of a new radioisotope generator based on americium-241 — an element that can replace the scarce plutonium-238 in power sources for deep space. The new Stirling generator continues to produce electricity even if key components fail, making it especially reliable for long-term missions, such as to Mars or Saturn's moon Titan.
Americium-241 is a more available and cheaper element, obtained from the reprocessing of nuclear waste. Leicester scientists have been working with it for more than 15 years, and since the beginning of this year have been testing the generator together with NASA. The system successfully passed tests of energy efficiency and performance. The next stage is to develop a lighter version of the generator for field trials.
Against the backdrop of such news, it seems the launch to Mars will happen before we have time to finish our coffee — so actively are the technologies that make these missions possible being developed technologies.
