@fossilesque@mander.xyzM to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish • 6 months agologs are for quittersmander.xyzimagemessage-square101fedilinkarrow-up11.3Karrow-down117
arrow-up11.28Karrow-down1imagelogs are for quittersmander.xyz@fossilesque@mander.xyzM to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish • 6 months agomessage-square101fedilink
minus-squareSchadrachlinkfedilinkEnglish4•6 months 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•6 months 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.