Space Nuclear Mission History

A History of Mission Successes

For more than 50 years, the Department of Energy has enabled space exploration on 27 missions by providing safe reliable radioisotope power systems and radioisotope heater units for NASA, Navy, Air Force, DOE.

Mission	Year Launched	Agency	Regions Explored
Transit 4a	1961	Navy	Earth- Navy Navigation Satellite
Transit 4B	1961	Navy	Earth - Navigation Satellite
Transit 5-BN-1	1963	Navy	Earth - Navigation Satellite
Transit 5-BN-2	1963	Navy	Earth - Navigation Satellite
SNAP-10	1965	DOE	Earth - Technology Demonstration
Nimbus III	1969	NASA	Earth - Weather Satellite
Apollo 11	1969	NASA	Moon Surface
Apollo 12	1969	NASA	Moon Surface
Apollo 14	1971	NASA	Moon Surface
Apollo 15	1971	NASA	Moon Surface
Pioneer 10	1971	NASA	Jupiter
Apollo 16	1972	NASA	Moon Surface
Triad-01-1X	1972	Navy	Earth – Navigation Satellite
Apollo 17	1972	NASA	Moon Surface
Pioneer 11	1973	NASA	Jupiter, Saturn
Viking 1	1975	NASA	Mars Surface
Viking 2	1975	NASA	Mars Surface
Lincoln Experimental Satellite 8	1976	Air Force	Earth – Communications Satellite
Lincoln Experimental Satellite 9	1976	Air Force	Earth – Communications Satellite
Voyager 2	1977	NASA	Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Interstellar Space
Voyager 1	1977	NASA	Jupiter, Saturn, Interstellar Space
Galileo	1989	NASA	Venus, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter
Ulysses	1990	NASA	Jupiter, Sun, Comets
Pathfinder-Sojourner	1996	NASA	Mars Surface
Cassini-Huygens	1997	NASA	Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan
MER A - Spirit	2003	NASA	Earth Surface
MER B - Opportunity	2003	NASA	Earth Surface
Pluto New Horizons	2006	NASA	Jupiter, Pluto, Kuiper Belt
Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity	2011	NASA	Mars Surface