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Message: <blockquote data-quote="imhotep" data-source="post: 29093678" data-attributes="member: 562115">RTGs are pretty reliable. They have no moving parts. These work on the principle of thermal to electricity conversion between two dissimilar electrical conductors or semiconductors (Seebeck Effect). The heat source is Plutonium-238 in the form of its dioxide PuO2.The downside of this method is the low conversion efficiency - Typically 7%. The Stirling RTG reached > 23% but NASA dropped the development in 2013. But still they are funding some companies with the ASRG (Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator) development.All NASA RTGs are from the DOE Labs (although others are involved too). The DOE is finally responsible for the design & the product.  (After the Soviet Cosmos 954 satellite (which carried a nuclear reactor) fell to Earth over Canada in 1978, the U.N. established a working group on the use of nuclear power sources in outer space which concluded that nuclear power sources "can be used safely in outer space provided that all necessary safety requirements are met." The Canadians billed the USSR for 6 Million but the USSR paid half. - Before this two of theirs fell into the Ocean. ) The MMRTG was developed by Pratt & Whitney and Teledyne Energy Systems for the DOE.  It is derived from the Viking RTG with PbTe/TAGS thermoelectric converters.</blockquote>

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