a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
mk  ·  4980 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Mars Curiosity rover just launched.
Apparently, the mission has a planned 1-year span on Mars. However the plutonium, which produces 125 watts at the start, will still produce 100 watts after 14 years. So, my guess is that this rover could cruise about for quite some time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Science_Laboratory#Power_s...

It's really fascinating stuff. Unfortunately, I heard that this plutonium is in short supply, and this might be one of the last missions to use this type of power source.

This is a great image of the comparative sizes of the Curiosity, Exploration, and Sojourner rovers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mars_Science_Laboratory_mo...

I really hope this thing makes it.