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minus-squareSchadrach@lemmy.sdf.orglinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up4·5 days 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-squarechaogomu@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up1·5 days 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.