Plutonium-238

Just in time for the new year, researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have unveiled the fruits of a different kind of energy research: For the first time in nearly three decades, they've produced a special fuel that scientists hope will power the future exploration of deep space.

The production of 50 grams of plutonium-238 marks the first demonstration in the US since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production in the late 1980s.

Just in time for the new year, researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have unveiled the fruits of a different kind of energy research: For the first time in nearly three decades, they've produced a special fuel that scientists hope will power the future exploration of deep space.

The production of 50 grams of plutonium-238 marks the first demonstration in the US since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production in the late 1980s.