Title: Three Benefits that Came from the Atomic Bomb | OpenMind
Headings: Three Benefits that Came from the Atomic Bomb
Three Benefits that Came from the Atomic Bomb
1. Radiation that cures cancer
2. Trips to the edge of the Solar System
3. An unknown application in energy production
Ventana al conocimiento (Knowledge window)

Content: Trips to the edge of the Solar System
In the vicinity of the Earth, where we use orbiting satellites for communications or to predict the weather, solar panels are the primary source of energy. The Rosetta probe, now studying the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is capable of operating at 800 million kilometers from the Sun, but requires two giant solar panels of 14 meters each, with which to squeeze out every last photon of the low solar energy available. Beyond this, to explore the gas giants like Jupiter or Saturn or to try to reach the edge of the solar system, nuclear energy is necessary. The atomic propulsion produced with radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) is the most effective way to reach those places where the sun is too weak for a solar panel system. This technology, which converts the heat energy produced by the disintegration of plutonium-238, kept the pioneer Viking probes exploring Mars for years. The Galileo probe, with a similar power system, revolutionized our knowledge of Jupiter and its moons, and Cassini has already spent ten years rediscovering Saturn and its moons, photographing the geysers of Enceladus or analyzing the subsurface ocean that lies beneath the surface of the satellite Europa. The most extreme case of the potential of nuclear power for space exploration is the Voyager probes. Launched in 1977, they have now reached the edge of the solar system and continue to send signals as the most distant human emissaries from Earth. 3. An unknown application in energy production
The fundamental civil use of nuclear technology came almost a decade after its use as a weapon.