@robmcnairhuff: Nothing pushes Twitter to the edge like science! Meanwhile, on Facebook, someone just won another game of Farmville...

@ericwilkinson: ALIENS INVADE MARS ~Headline on Mars tomorrow

Okay, who was doing donuts in the Mars Rover? Don't make us check the logs, fess up!

They are hoping for four years, but since Spirit and Opportunity have lasted longer than that, they would be very happy to see it last as long as whichever one is still kicking.

Eight years is the dream.

Power source: Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), like the successful Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers in 1976.
Radioisotope power systems (RPSs) are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments. Curiosity's RTG is fueled by 4.8 kg (11 lb) of plutonium-238 dioxide supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy, packed in 32 pellets each about the size of a marshmallow (≈20 cm3).
Curiosity's power generator is the latest RTG generation built by Boeing, called the "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" or MMRTG. Based on classical RTG technology, it represents a more flexible and compact development step, and is designed to produce 125 watts of electrical power from about 2000 watts of thermal power at the start of the mission. The MMRTG produces less power over time as its plutonium fuel decays: at its minimum lifetime of 14 years, electrical power output is down to 100 watts. The power source will generate 9 MJ (2.5 kilowatt hours) per day, much more than the Mars Exploration Rovers' solar panels, which can generate about 2.1 MJ (0.6 kilowatt hours) per day.