Space Policy Edition #3: Plutonium-238, Europa via SLS, Cost of the Next Mars Rover Rises
Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition · The Planetary Society
August 5, 20161h 3m
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Show Notes
In our third episode, we debate the risks and rewards of tying the future of a Europa mission to the fate of NASA's massive Space Launch System rocket. Also, NASA just announced that the next Mars rover will cost $2.4 billion—$900 million more than initially thought. But the mission is not considered over budget. Why not? Lastly, the U.S. just generated 50 grams of Plutonium-238, the largest amount in nearly thirty years. We celebrate the successful effort to create this critically important, though highly toxic, power source for deep space spacecraft.