NASA Artemis base camp — NASA

This New Nuclear Space Battery Will Upset Putin

Its revolutionary technology will make NASA and ESA missions more secure while hurting Russia.

NASA has accomplished some astonishing missions over the decades. But would it surprise you to learn that the nuclear fuel that powered NASA’s Curiosity, Perseverance, Cassini, and New Horizons missions was supplied by Russia? In fact, Putin actually has a monopoly over this precious mission-critical fuel, giving him a mobster-like grip on space exploration and enabling him to hold billion-dollar missions to ransom. Fortunately, a new nuclear battery promises to relinquish Putin’s control while also providing a better energy source and ushering in a new era of space exploration. But how does it work?

All of the aforementioned NASA missions used Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to power themselves. RTGs use a lump of self-heating nuclear fuel, which glows red with heat due to radioactive decay, to power thermal generators and provide power. Depending on their fuel type, RTGs can provide stable and reliable energy for decades while weighing very little. As such, they are the only power source capable of powering certain rovers and deep space missions.

By far the most popular nuclear fuel for RTGs to use is plutonium-238. It has a half-life of 87.7…