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Space-Age Technology from the 1960s Continues Powering NASA's Voyager Spacecrafts, Maintaining Operation for Nearly Half a Century

Nuclear batteries, a technology from the 1960s, power NASA's Voyager probes as solar panels prove ineffective in the distant reaches of the outer solar system, leaving them billions of miles from Earth.

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NASA's Voyager Probes Remain Active Due to 1960s Technology Maintenance for approximately Four and...
NASA's Voyager Probes Remain Active Due to 1960s Technology Maintenance for approximately Four and a Half Decades

Space-Age Technology from the 1960s Continues Powering NASA's Voyager Spacecrafts, Maintaining Operation for Nearly Half a Century

In the vast expanse of space, where sunlight is often scarce, a unique technology known as Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) plays a crucial role in powering some of NASA's most ambitious missions.

RTGs, which describe a system that produces a current in a loop when two wires of different conducting materials are joined and exposed to a temperature difference, are at the heart of five current NASA missions. These include the Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, the New Horizons spacecraft, and the missions to Pluto and Jupiter, Juno.

These generators power these missions by harnessing the heat produced from the radioactive decay of elements, primarily plutonium-238. This decay emits alpha particles, which interact with and transfer energy into the material surrounding the plutonium, heating it up. The heat is then converted into electricity using the Seebeck effect.

Interestingly, RTGs do not rely on chemical reactions like batteries in phones. Instead, they are self-contained and require no moving parts, making them much less likely to break down or stop working.

The New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Juno mission to Jupiter, which travel beyond the orbits of the Voyager probes, are prime examples of the longevity of RTGs. Over the course of about 90 years, only half the plutonium in an RTG will have decayed away. This means that these generators can continue to power missions for decades, even centuries.

The design of RTGs ensures safety and reliability. The container of plutonium-238 is often in a solid ceramic state for extra safety, and the generators have an excellent safety record. They are designed to survive their normal use and be safe in the event of an accident.

While RTGs can produce only a few hundred watts of power, which is not enough to power a powerful GPU for video games, they are ideal for powering spacecraft in the outer reaches of the solar system, where sunlight is scarce and traditional solar panels would be ineffective.

In the inner solar system, spacecraft such as lunar or Mars rovers need alternative power sources. In these cases, large solar panels are often used to harness solar energy for electricity.

The use and development of RTGs are a subject of interest in aerospace engineering. Astrophysicist and professor of physics teach senior-level courses on the space environment, including the role and application of RTGs in powering space missions.

The Voyager missions, launched in 1977, are still active science missions, collecting and sending data back to Earth, despite being about 15.5 billion miles and 13 billion miles from the Earth, respectively. This is a testament to the effectiveness and durability of RTGs, which have enabled these iconic missions to endure the harsh conditions of space for over four decades.

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