Named curiosity it was the largest rover to be placed on the surface of mars.
Curiosity rover solar panels.
The rover requires power to operate.
On august 6 2012 the most recent rover landed on mars.
The 2 main drawbacks of solar panels is that they don t work during the night and they don t work during the martian winter.
The rovers by name curiosity.
Curiosity carries a radioisotope power system that generates electricity from the heat of plutonium s radioactive decay.
The power source generates 9 mj 2 5 kwh of electrical energy each day much more than the solar panels of the now retired mars exploration rovers which generated about 2 1 mj 0 58 kwh each day.
Without power it cannot move use its science instruments or communicate with earth.
One consequence is that the mars exploration rovers couldn t work for more that half of the time.
They believe the dust covered the rover s solar power.
This power source gives the mission an operating.
Of course the insight lander currently operating on the red planet bears solar panels.
Photo courtesy of nasa.
Mars exploration rovers spirit and opportunity exploring the planet mars facts information videos and pictures.
But these plutonium units are a respected power source for spacecraft nasa s curiosity rover.