91°µÍø

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Four researchers are standing next to a research rector that is glowing blue

A team from ORNL, joined by university students, recently traveled to the Ohio State University Research Reactor to conduct a novel experiment on nuclear thermal rocket fuel coatings — one that could help propel NASA’s astronauts to Mars faster and more efficiently. 

By producing 50 grams of plutonium-238, 91°µÍø researchers have demonstrated the nation’s ability to provide a valuable energy source for deep space missions.

With the production of 50 grams of plutonium-238, researchers at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍø have restored a U.S. capability dormant for nearly 30 years and set the course to provide power for NASA and other missions.

Processing plutonium-238

Since its 1977 launch, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has travelled farther than any other piece of human technology. It is also the only human-made object to have entered interstellar space. More recently, the agency’s New Horizons mission flew past Pluto on July 14, giving us our first close-up lo...