Specialized Fuel for Deep Space Missions Created for the First Time in 30 Years

Scientists are creating power for deep space mission. They've created a specialized fuel for the first time in nearly 30 years that could be used to travel far beyond our solar system.

In this case, researchers produced 50 grams of plutonium-238, which is roughly the mass of a golf ball. This marks the first demonstration of fuel production in the United States since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina stopped production in the late 1980s.

Radioisotope power systems convert heat from the natural radioactive decay of the isotope plutoniumh-238 into electricity. These systems have been used to power the exploration of the solar system and beyond, from the Viking missions on Mars, to the Voyager spacecraft entering interplanetary space. More recently, it powered the Curiosity Mars Rover and New Horizons spacecraft.

"This significant achievement by our teammates at DOE signals a new renaissance in the exploration of our solar system," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a news release. "Radioisotope power systems are a key tool to power the next generation of planetary orbiters, landers and rovers in our quest to unravel the mysteries of the universe."

The findings are huge as scientists continue to seek to understand and travel further and further into the universe.

The next NASA mission planning to use an MMRTG, which is effectively a nuclear battery, is the Mars 2020 rover, due to be launched as part of NASA's Journey to Mars, in order to seek signs of past life on the Red Planet, test technology for human exploration, and gather samples that may return to Earth in the future.

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