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Americium: How a small element could power the next century of space exploration (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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"The isotope of interest for space is americium-241....Its half-life is a staggering 432 years, five times longer than plutonium-238."

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[–] 6 points 11 months ago (3 children)

You think thermoelectric generators are going to struggle with low temperatures?

If there's one thing we can practically guarantee, it's the heat output lol

I'm not an engineer in this space, so i'll leave it to more knowledgeable people to poke holes in my argument.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Not thermoelectrics, but sterling engines. But fair point about the heat.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    Voyager I and II are 48 years old running on thermoelectric generators. that’s amazing. They are winding down because the half life of plutonium means there is much less power than when new.

    I can see future probes lasting even longer with americium as a fuel source

    But introducing moving parts for a sterling engine? In space? And expect it to last like that? Seems unlikely

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