https://nitter.1d4.us/NASAJPL/status/1669056455901851648

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Great filter adherents :blob-on-fire:

  • iridaniotter [she/her]
    ·
    1 year ago

    Fission fuels can be used for thermoelectric generators (low energy, usually very simple, lasts a very long time, used for deep space probes) as well as "small" reactors that can fit in vehicles or power a town. Fusion requires such high energies so the reactor designs are very big and the prospects for miniaturization are low. Cities will probably be powered by fusion one day, but I'm confident fission will continue to have a healthy niche.

    • 0karin728 [any]
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yeah, fair. I would expect fusion to be substantially miniaturized from current designs by the time anyone is thinking about going to enceladus, since that's probably like a century or two off, but I can definitely imagine a world where that isn't the case.

      Thermoelectric generators aren't actually fission reactors, but they're crazy cheap and ideal for space travel because they require almost 0 upkeep