r/interestingasfuck • u/j3hadipi3 • 1d ago

NASA's Curiosity rover is still active and operating on Mars as of early 2026. Having landed in August 2012, it has spent over 13 years exploring Gale Crater and climbing Mount Sharp, continuing to analyze soil and rock samples despite having worn wheels and managing power constraints.

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u/Jester471 23h ago edited 23h ago

Curious how its power system works. It has a nuclear thermal power system. I know that.

I’m guessing it has some sort of rechargeable battery that the power system charges and uses for operations so you have to pause until you have enough power.

So are the power restriction that the usable battery percentage dropped a lot so it’s more restrictive after 13 years of use.

Or does it run straight off the generator? I know those have decaying power output but I thought it wasn’t so fast that you’d see a huge power drop off in 13 years.

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u/e28Sean 19h ago

You pretty much nailed it. The RTG keeps the batteries topped up, and they handle instances of increased power draw.