Nasa Explains How It Keeps The Curiosity Rover Running, 13 Years Later

Thirteen years ago, nan Curiosity rover landed connected Mars, wrong Gale crater successful particular. It was primitively sent to nan reddish satellite for a two-year mission, but it was extended indefinitely conscionable a fewer months into its operations. The rover has respective goals, astir of which are meant to thief scientists find whether Mars could ever person supported life successful nan past. And while it's still very overmuch operational and doing science, NASA has had to make adjustments and springiness it caller capabilities to guarantee that it tin support running.

In a new station celebrating nan 13th day of nan rover's landing, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has elaborate nan updates nan Curiosity squad has had to implement. To commencement with, nan squad manages nan rover's regular powerfulness fund pinch awesome attraction to make judge it tin do its occupation and past longer. See, Curiosity uses a powerfulness strategy called Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), which relies connected decaying plutonium pellets to make energy. As nan plutonium decays complete time, it takes longer and longer for nan strategy to recharge nan rover's battery.

That's why nan squad now meticulously factors successful each instrumentality that draws connected nan batteries. They consolidate Curiosity's tasks to shorten nan clip nan rover is progressive to besides trim nan power used. The crushed team, for instance, tells Curiosity to talk to an orbiter while driving aliases moving its robotic limb alternatively of doing 1 task astatine a time. If nan rover finishes its tasks early, it tin spell to slumber early and recharge for nan adjacent day, which JPL says maximizes nan life of nan MMRTG.

Over nan past years, NASA has besides rolled retired updates to alteration really nan rover's robotic limb drill collects samples and to amended its driving capabilities. JPL developed an algorithm to trim deterioration connected nan rover's wheels, arsenic well, truthful they tin past longer.

From nan clip Curiosity had landed connected Mars, it has provided america pinch aggregate discoveries and caller information. It discovered integrated molecules successful Martian ambiance and soil, detected "startlingly high" levels of methane that's a state typically produced by life arsenic we cognize it, and it recovered grounds of ancient megafloods connected nan reddish planet. And water, arsenic you know, could bespeak nan beingness of life.