Current batteries rely on plutonium-238, an element thats challenging and expensive to produce.
The only option, at this point, is for the ESA to find an alternative.
To that end, the ESA has earmarked 29 million Euros for the development of an americium battery.
According to researchers, the element is both easier and less expensive to produce.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Plutonium-238 is created through a two-stage process that involves irradiating neptunium-237 in a special reactor.
This is, of course, a reference to the agencys previous reliance on Russian plutonium.
The current expectation is that ESA rockets will carry americium battery technology by the end of the decade.
