We have just started an MSL team meeting at Caltech in Pasadena, California. We are welcoming new team members and discussing our findings since the last team meeting in Paris.
The Mission Manager Jim Erickson noted that as we have a Pu238 Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) as far as he is concerned the mission can go on for ever!
As Pu238 decays with a half life of 88 years (by alpha particle decay) it will produce enough heat for at least 14 years to produce 2.5 kW per day to keep the lithium ion batteries charged.
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