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Nuclear

Radioisotope Power Systems, a strong partnership between the Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy and NASA, has been providing the energy for deep space exploration.

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6 percent of the world's energy and 13–14 percent of the world's electricity.

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Moving Forward to Address Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal
Three trucks transport nuclear waste from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. | Energy Department photo.

Today, Secretary Moniz announced that the Energy Department is moving forward with planning for a separate repository for high-level radioactive waste resulting from atomic energy defense activities.

Nuclear Speed-Dating
Photo courtesy of Idaho National Laboratory.

The future of nuclear energy needs smart, creative thinkers. That's why more than 120 experts met up last week to "speed-date" each other's ideas.

Top 6 Things You Didn't Know About Nuclear Power
These are the first lightbulbs lit by nuclear fission at Argonne's EBR or Experimental Breeder Reactor.| Energy Department photo.

Part of our "Top Things You Didn't Know About..." series, we outline 6 fascinating facts about nuclear power.

Powering Curiosity: Lab Tech Goes to Mars
One of the first images taken by NASA's Curiosity rover was taken on the left-rear side of the rover looking directly into the sun. | Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Today marks the beginning of Curiosity's two-year mission on the Martian surface to determine whether our neighboring Red Planet supports life now or has in the past.

Photo Gallery: National Labs and the Science Behind Nuclear Security
Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont, Illinois)

From medical isotopes to nuclear energy to global security, the National Labs are nuclear experts.