Americium-241 emits power for more than 400 years.
The world’s first space battery fueled by Americium-241, a nuclear-based fuel, will be developed in cooperation between the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the U.K. Space Agency.
This project will be carried out in a brand-new laboratory in Cumbria costing £19 million ($23 million) and outfitted with cutting-edge machinery and technology, according to a joint press release by NNL and the Space Agency on Friday.
“For the past 50 years space missions have used Plutonium-238 to stop spacecrafts from freezing, but it is in very limited supply,” said professor Tim Tinsley, account director at NNL.
National Nuclear Laboratory.
This project will be carried out in a brand-new laboratory in Cumbria costing £19 million ($23 million) and outfitted with cutting-edge machinery and technology, according to a joint press release by NNL and the Space Agency on Friday.
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