system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
In spacecraft/satellites powered by radioactivity, how do they protect the sensitive instruments from the craft's own radiation?
gpt
Usually, the RTG(s) are located at the end of a boom, away from the main body of the satellite/probe. So this distance attenuates the gamma radiation produced by the decay of the isotope in question (usually Pu-238). Otherwise, Pu-238 is an alpha emitter, so it's very easy to shield.