Asteroid use

> Bill, Bill,
> I would certainly like to see your source on the above.
> My CRC 50th handbook on page B551 reports that Am 242m has a half
> life of 152 years. It also reports that Am242 ha sa half life of
16.0
> hrs so perhaps you got a reference that only showed the shorter half
> life? It appears that the Am242 decays into Am242m which is stable
> until until it decays or is used a fuel for a Mars journey.
>
> I have another source, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. 1970
> which says that Am 242 has a half life of 100 years, and is listed
as
> a neutron source.
>
> So, Americium is still a viable candidate for rocket propulsion
> provided we can get enough of it from reprocessing spent fuel rods.
>