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.
Comment on Americium: How a small element could power the next century of space exploration
kalkulat@lemmy.world 5 days ago10 times as much as gold
To -make-, yep. As the article pointed out, there’s a lot of Amercium in waste dumps where old smoke detectors … and anyone can make it. Five times the half-life means it can power much longer missions.
diablexical@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
kalkulat@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Except in regions where there is no access to Pu … as the article itself pointed out.
Johnmannesca@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Seems kinda dangerous to do radioactive materials scrapping, but if you got the safety protocols and equipment worked out then it’s a living
krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
I like to recover old smoke detectors and eat the americium. I’m well on my way to becoming captain americium.