Skip to content Skip to footer
Plutonium-238 is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years.

Why We Need More Plutonium-238

6 Comments

  • Johan
    Posted February 25, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    “Remember the New Horizons mission? Beautiful images of Pluto will remain our closest encounter with any planet for the next few centuries at least.”

    Ehm what?

  • Post Author
    Shashank Bhardwaj
    Posted February 25, 2016 at 10:21 pm

    Probably meant ‘any NEW planet’.

  • Johan
    Posted February 25, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    Probably or “It’s closest encounter” If ever

  • Post Author
    Shashank Bhardwaj
    Posted February 25, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    In that case, it’d be ‘its closest encounter for a few millennia at least’.
    New Horizons isn’t expected to pass near any star system for tens of thousands of years.

  • Alan Barker
    Posted April 21, 2016 at 2:09 am

    Dear author:
    The plural of “spacecraft” is “spacecraft”.
    Thanks.

  • davidkennerly
    Posted September 3, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    “Beautiful images of Pluto will remain our closest encounter with any planet for the next few centuries at least. ” If you were limiting your certainty to manned probes, then I would be inclined to agree that, and much to the disappointment of many, it is highly unlikely that we will have manned missions to Mars – and certainly not to any other planet or its moons – in the next century. However, there are bound to be unmanned probes and flybys aplenty and throughout our solar system over the next century. Unless, of course, you are factoring in what you imagine to be a near-certain apocalypse in our immediate future, in which case you’ve got me seriously worried. None of us can rule THAT out.

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to all things science, in your mailbox.

This Pop-up Is Included in the Theme
Best Choice for Creatives
Purchase Now