Astatine, in its most stable form, has a half-life of 8 hours, meaning all the energy emitted by a plutonium space probe over a century would be emitted by an equivalent lump of astatine in an afternoon.
factualpending
Speaker
Randall MunroeEvidence Quote
“all of the energy emitted by the plutonium powering the Curiosity Rover over the course of the next century...is being limited by our lump of astatine in an afternoon”
Created: 8/11/2026, 1:26:46 AM
My Notes
Loading notes...