Americans for the first time in the last 30 years have begun to produce neoruzheynogo plutonium-238. The US Department of Energy assured that the radioactive isotope is used as an energy source in the implementation of operations in deep space, including Mars.
A small batch of plutonium-238 (50 grams) was performed in the laboratory of the Ministry US Energy at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Assistant research unit NASA John Gransfeld called the production of plutonium a significant achievement, since Americans bought it in Russia .
“Plutonium-238 generates heat in the process of decay and can be used in systems that energy supply devices installed on the spacecraft, “- said the US atomic scientists. According to them, the resulting sample “ demonstrates the ability to carry out in the United States a full cycle of production of the isotope for the first time since his operation time has been stopped in the enterprise,” the Savannah River “in South Carolina in the late 1980s.
“When we automate and expand its production, the country will have the opportunity of creating energy systems radioisotopes, including those that are used by NASA to deep space exploration “, – quotes Tass head Bob Uema program.
In the production of plutonium NASA has provided over the past two years, about $ 30 million. The Department of Energy plans to increase production to 400 grams of plutonium per year, then – up to 1.5 kilograms.
At the disposal of the United States have 35 kilograms of plutonium: half is reserved for space projects and the other half due to age does not meet the necessary requirements. However, the old games can be mixed with the new, to prolong use. The half-life of plutonium-238 is 87.7 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment