Submitted by Aeromarine_eng t3_zemx83 in Futurology
Comments
FuturologyBot t1_iz7g6gt wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Aeromarine_eng:
European researchers are developing batteries that use a radioactive isotope to power long missions in the Solar System.
ESA has relied on US or Russian partners, which have used plutonium-238 batteries.
Americium’s big advantage over plutonium is that it is cheaper and more abundant, repurposing waste that would otherwise be useless.
Americium has a longer half-life than plutonium-238, which means it lasts longer but packs less power per gram. But because americium is more readily available, producing one watt of power costs about one-fifth as much as it does using plutonium.
Over the next three years, the European Devices Using Radioisotope Energy (ENDURE) team will develop prototypes into models that can be tested in mission-like conditions.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zemx83/how_nuclear_waste_will_help_spacecraft_explore/iz7bdfa/
The_McFly_Guy t1_iz7h8eo wrote
Are these nuclear Diamond batteries??
Aeromarine_eng OP t1_iz7ncr3 wrote
>Are these nuclear Diamond batteries??
No
thejml2000 t1_iz7pt2i wrote
Depends on the volume. Generally, about the same as any of the RTG’s we’ve launched on NASA or ESA probes. Not much. It burns up and distributes in the atmosphere to almost nothing in a wide swath. But again it really depends on the volume and when the malfunction happens.
There was a huge uproar during the Cassini–Huygens probe launch and NASA studies because of it.
ingenix1 t1_iza7l54 wrote
Radioactive batteries have been in use since the 60s. I'm pretty sure the safety of using them has been figured out.
Aeromarine_eng OP t1_iz7bdfa wrote
European researchers are developing batteries that use a radioactive isotope to power long missions in the Solar System.
ESA has relied on US or Russian partners, which have used plutonium-238 batteries.
Americium’s big advantage over plutonium is that it is cheaper and more abundant, repurposing waste that would otherwise be useless.
Americium has a longer half-life than plutonium-238, which means it lasts longer but packs less power per gram. But because americium is more readily available, producing one watt of power costs about one-fifth as much as it does using plutonium.
Over the next three years, the European Devices Using Radioisotope Energy (ENDURE) team will develop prototypes into models that can be tested in mission-like conditions.