What fuel system powers the Curiosity Mars Rover?

Nuclear Battery, so to speak Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator utilizing Plutonium-238. 110watts. We (The US) has\have been using a similar design since the days of the Apollo Missions[1]. read more

RTGs (Radioisotope Thermal Generators) use the heat of radioactive decay using a thermocouple (two different metals) which causes a gradient for its electricity. read more

When the Curiosity rover touched down on Mars yesterday, a specially designed nuclear generator kicked into action. A close up of Mars Curiosity’s power source. Credit: Idaho National Laboratory. read more

Also in use during those tense seven minutes was the VxWorks operating system from California-based Wind River."While on Mars, Curiosity will depend on VxWorks to perform mission-critical tasks, such as ground operations control, data collection, and Mars-to-Earth communication relay," Wind River said today. read more