The quickest way to recognize how rad Earth is, is to leave it. Every time we send a spacecraft into space, we have to send it with everything it will ever need riding on its back or in its belly.

Voyages into space are among the most iconic endeavors of the 20th and 21st centuries. Spacecraft that have ventured out to this “final frontier” have relayed stunning images and enlightening ...

WASHINGTON — For planetary scientists and astrophysicists hoping to re-establish domestic production of plutonium-238 (Pu-238) in an effort to power future U.S. deep space missions, 2011 could be ...

Most places in the solar system can't be reached without nuclear energy. NASA uses plutonium-238 forged during the Cold War to power its most ambitious missions. NASA is running low on the material, ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite repeated actions by U.S. lawmakers to deny funding for domestic production of plutonium-238 (Pu-238) in U.S. Energy Department budget bills, NASA has begun mapping out the ...

Radioactive materials have enormous potential as a source of energy, but some isotopes are available in such small quantities that their use as an energy source is limited. In the 1950s, scientists at ...

video: ORNL produces some pretty out-of-this-world materials. Plutonium-238, a unique iridium alloy, and carbon-bonded carbon fiber are all key ingredients for deep space exploration. NASA uses these ...

The US government says a new robot is poised to help it create a reliable, long-term supply chain of plutonium-238, a radioactive material NASA requires to explore deep space. NASA uses Pu-238 to ...

NASA is giving scientists more choices for how to power their future spacecraft to explore the Solar System. Researchers proposing spacecraft ideas for NASA’s Discovery program — an initiative to ...

NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover is ready to roll now that it got its plutonium-238 power supply. Tory Bruno, head of the United Launch Alliance declared, "This Red Planet dune buggy is fueled and ready ...