page_title: Nuclear power in space
section_title: Visuals
hierarchical_section_title: Nuclear power in space / Visuals
caption_attribution_description: The Mars Science Laboratory’s radioisotope power system was assembled by putting nuclear heat sources within graphite impact shells into high-strength carbon-carbon modules at Idaho National Laboratory. Learn more about this project and view NASA's Curiosity videos at www.inl.gov/marsrover/
context_page_description: Nuclear power in space is the use of nuclear power in outer space, typically either small fission systems or radioactive decay for electricity or heat. Another use is for scientific observation, as in a Mössbauer spectrometer. The most common type is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which has been used on many space probes and on crewed lunar missions. Small fission reactors for Earth observation satellites, such as the TOPAZ nuclear reactor, have also been flown. A radioisotope heater unit is powered by radioactive decay and can keep components from becoming too cold to function, potentially over a span of decades.
  The United States tested the SNAP-10A nuclear reactor in space for 43 days in 1965, with the next test of a nuclear reactor power system intended for space use occurring on 13 September 2012 with the Demonstration Using Flattop Fission test of the Kilopower reactor.
  After a ground-based test of the experimental 1965 Romashka reactor, which used uranium and direct thermoelectric conversion to electricity, the USSR sent about 40 nuclear-electric satellites into space, mostly powered by the BES-5 reactor.
caption: Red-hot shell containing plutonium undergoing nuclear decay, inside the Mars Science Laboratory MMRTG.[21] MSL was launched in 2011 and landed on Mars in August 2012.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3872", "Image ImageLength": "2592", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2011:11:14 14:36:57", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "308", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1004", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1118", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6941", "EXIF ExposureTime": "10/13", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:10:27 09:29:04", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:10:27 09:29:04", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "40241/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "100", "EXIF SubSecTime": "82", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "82", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "82", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3872", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "972", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "150", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "High gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}