Public domain
Power for Mars 2020
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The electricity needed to operate NASA's Mars 2020 rover is provided by a power system called a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, or MMRTG. The MMRTG will be inserted into the aft end of the rover between the panels with gold tubing visible at the rear, which are called heat exchangers. Essentially a nuclear battery, an MMRTG uses the heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 to generate about 110 watts of electricity at the start of a mission.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit linePower for Mars 2020. NASA/JPL, 2019-07-24. Public domain. ID: PIA23305.
