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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

It appears that the U.S.'s plutonium-238 shortage is coming an end. The radioisotope is crucial for fueling long-term deep space missions, but as of 2017, a shortage was on the horizon. But ...

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 ...

Fifteen years ago, the United States stopped making plutonium-238, one of the most toxic substances known to man. It can be fatal to inhale so much as a speck of the radioactive isotope. But now, ...

The Energy Department is moving to resume production of plutonium-238 as an energy source for spacecraft and some national security activities, because existing supplies will be virtually gone in five ...

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 ...

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 ...