Micheal wrote:
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.
It has the *potential* to last a ridiculously long time.
The wikipedia blurb on the rover wrote:
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.
So it'll be down to producing 80% of the power it is today by 2026.
I'm sure it has redundant just about everything critical (like the primary computer, which is essentially the same PowerPC 750 that Apple used in the G3 - see this cool article on it at
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1340 ... ith-wheels). Anyway, if everything continues to go right and nothing important fails, it seems like this thing could just keep going for years and years.