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Radioisotope Power Systems Images

Images of Radioistope Power Systems, including Multi-Mission radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), diagrams, Stirling converters, and other nuclear heat and power technologies.

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New Horizons carries seven scientific instruments and a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. The spacecraft weighs 1,060 pounds.
Two men work on a grand piano-sized spacecraft wrapped in a gold insulating blanket. A large cylinder, a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, sticks out of the side.
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard Right Navigation Camera (Navcam). The camera is located high on...
The cyclinder and fins of Perseverance's radioisotope thermoelectric generator on Mars.
Technicians in the payload processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida perform a fit check between NASA'S Mars...
Five engineers look intently at the upside-down Perseverance Rover. They are examining the rover's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator.
A radioisotope thermoelectric generator is mounted to the Cassini spacecraft before launch in 1997.
A long, black cylinder with fins on it is mounted to the side of a spacecraft.
Viking 1 Lander image of Chryse Planitia looking over the lander. The large white object at lower left and center,...
A rocky plain on Mars is visible over the top of the Viking 1 lander. Part of the top deck of the lander, including a large antenna dish, are visible in the foreground.
This image shows the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator for NASA'S Mars 2020 Perseverance rover during a fit check with the...
The rover is wheels up and still under construction. and the radioisotope
Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean extracts the fuel element of a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) from storage on the lunar...
The astronaut is standing on the Moon next to the landing module. He is extracting a round cylinder from a storage compartment on the side.
The electricity needed to operate NASA's Mars 2020 rover is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric...
A partially assembled Mars rover in the cleanroom at JPL. The rover's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator is jutting from the back of the rover.
Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) placed on the Moon by the crew of Apollo 14. The RTG is the...
An astronaut casts a long shadow on the Moon as he photographs scientific equipment on the lunar surface.
Each of NASA's Voyager probes are equipped with three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), including the one shown here at NASA's...
Two black cylinders with fins are stacked on top of each other on a rolling platform.
This rectangular version of a self-portrait of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars...
A Mars rover is parked among the tire tracks it made on Mars in this composite image.
There are no gas stations or mechanics in deep space. So, if you want the power to perform science in...
A man in a lab coat is working on a complex machine bristling with tubes, wires and gauges.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover looks back at its wheel tracks on March 17, 2022, the 381st Martian day, or sol,...
Twin wheel tracks extend to the horizon in this view over the back of the rover.
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover, including its Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (white cylinder with fins), is shown on sol 108 of...
A rock-strewn landscape is visible behind over the back of the Mars rover Perseverance.
A stack of General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) units awaits assembly and integration into the Mars rover Curiosity. This power...
The eight small General Purpose Heat Source blocks are stacked in a secure chamber filled with dials, gauges and valves.
This map of Mars shows the landing sites of all NASA RTG-powered Mars rovers and landers as of 2021. Viking...
An aerial map of Mars marked with the landing sites of Viking 1, Viking 2, Curiosity, and Perseverance.
For more than six decades, radioisotope power systems (RPS) (RPS) have played a critical role in the exploration of space,...
The logos of NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy at at the center of a hub listing each mission powered by a Radioisotope Power System or heated by a Radioisotope Heating Unit and the destination they explores. Destinations span Venus to the Kuiper Belt and beyond.
Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) have provided the power to explore, discover, and understand our solar system and beyond. This graphic...
A radial hub with the Sun at the center shows the science destinations of Radioisotope Power System missions. There have been five flyby missions, four orbiters, three rovers and three landers.
Seven non-NASA American spacecraft - two communication satellites and five navigational orbiters - have been launched since 1961.
This infographic featuring a full disc view of Earth an a big American flag lists seven Earth orbiting spacecraft. Two were launched by the U.S. Air Force. Five were launched by the U.S. Navy.
This is a display model of a General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) module. The GPHS module provides steady heat for...
A small, square black box.
Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) are small devices that use the decay of plutonium-238 to provide heat to keep a spacecraft's...
A small dark cylinder.
Labeled pull-apart view showing the major components of the MMRTG, or Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator.
This pull apart graphic shows the stacked power sources extended from a cylinder with cooling fins.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas at two times of day on April 8,...
A sweeping landscape gives way to hills on the colorized horizon in this artistic Mars composite image.
A model of Voyager's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator is placed in a shipping container.
A man in a cleanroom lowers a test model into a sturdy shipping container.
Astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module LM pilot, unloads the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package ALSEP Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator RTG...
An astronaut in a spacesuit removes a cylinder from the side of a lunar lander on the Moon.
Thomas Liu, Rainie Lin, and Aadya Karthik are “floating” in a virtual International Space Station at Glenn’s Graphics and Visualization...
A boy and a girl wearing special virtual reality glasses appear to be floating on the International Space Station.
Members of NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge Team, the three national challenge winners and their families in Glenn’s Visitor Center...
A group of men and women are standing in front of an Apollo space capsule.
Thomas Liu, Rainie Lin, and Aadya Karthik are in front of an Apollo capsule in Glenn’s Visitor Center at Great...
A boy and two girls standing in front of an Apollo space capsule.
An engineer explains radioisotope power and heat sources on each generation of Mars rover.
A man points to a picture of three Mars rover ranging in size from a child's wagon to an SUV. Two girls are listening to him talk.
Students play with a terrain simulation at NASA's Glenn Research Center.
A girl uses a shovel to move sand and change a terrain visualization illuminated by colors representing elevation.
Thomas Liu, Rainie Lin, and Aadya Karthik are in front of NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
Three students stand in a grassy field in front of a hangar that says NASA Glenn Research Center.
The Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) for NASA'S Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is shown during a fit check with the...
The rover is upside down in this straight from the back view. The image is centered on a cylinder with fins, the spacecraft's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator.