ESA Wants Spacecraft Batteries Containing Nuclear Fuel

In an attempt to develop a new way of using existing fissionable materials, researchers at the British National Nuclear Laboratory (BNNL) are currently trying to extract the element americium-241 from spent nuclear wastes stored at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing facility.

Once sufficient amounts of compound are gathered, it could constitute the basis of new batteries, to be used by the European Space Agency (ESA) on upcoming, long-duration space missions.

The Cassini and Voyager space probes NASA sent out in space, to Saturn and interstellar space, respectively, are perfect examples that nuclear fuel can indeed be used for this type of application. In some cases, solar panels simply don't do it.

Currently, ESA uses plutonium-238, but the agency says that it depends on the United States and Russia for its supplies, PhysOrg reports.

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Via: ESA Wants Spacecraft Batteries Containing Nuclear Fuel