@fossilesque@mander.xyzM to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish • 1 month agologs are for quittersmander.xyzimagemessage-square101fedilinkarrow-up11.28K
arrow-up11.28Kimagelogs are for quittersmander.xyz@fossilesque@mander.xyzM to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish • 1 month agomessage-square101fedilink
minus-squareSchadrachlinkfedilinkEnglish4•1 month agoUsually space craft have relatively light power needs so why bother with a whole-ass nuclear reactor when an RTG is smaller, lighter, and has no moving parts? They’re a pretty common choice for space probes, for example. https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/plutonium.png
minus-square@chaogomu@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglish1•1 month agoWe’re actually running into shortages of Plutonium 238. Which is seriously compromising deep space missions.
Usually space craft have relatively light power needs so why bother with a whole-ass nuclear reactor when an RTG is smaller, lighter, and has no moving parts? They’re a pretty common choice for space probes, for example.
https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/plutonium.png
We’re actually running into shortages of Plutonium 238. Which is seriously compromising deep space missions.