this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2025
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131
Americium: How a small element could power the next century of space exploration (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 4 days ago by kalkulat@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
26 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

"The isotope of interest for space is americium-241....Its half-life is a staggering 432 years, five times longer than plutonium-238."

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[โ€“] diablexical@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

longer missions

The length of missions is not currently and will not in the short or medium term be limited by the lifespan of plutonium.

[โ€“] kalkulat@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

Except in regions where there is no access to Pu ... as the article itself pointed out.