How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works

Re:How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works by mpyne on Monday August 06, 2012 @03:58PM (#4346965)

It would be easier to lift the rover perhaps, but F=ma, so since the mass of the rover hasn't changed, neither has the acceleration you can develop for a given force applied.

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Re:How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works by Shadow6363 on Monday August 06, 2012 @05:08PM (#4347295)

Isn't the friction dependent upon the normal force which on Mars would be less. Therefore, shouldn't the force required to overcome that also be less?

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Re:How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works by rlpb on Monday August 06, 2012 @06:28PM (#4347650)

Absolutely, if you were pushing a block along the ground. Fortunately modern "wheel" technology reduces the bearing friction so much that it is no longer a factor. The only friction left is the friction holding the wheel to the ground. This is reduced in reduced gravity, such that wheels are more likely to slip.

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Re:How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works by JoeAltmaier on Monday August 06, 2012 @06:23PM (#4347629)

Wheels need friction to develop acceleration. So its a negative not a positive.

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Re:How the Curiosity Rover's Nuclear Battery Works by maxerickson on Wednesday August 08, 2012 @10:44AM (#4355778)

It's only a negative if the vehicle needs to accelerate quickly. So sufficient friction is sufficient, not a negative or a positive.

Given that the batteries store roughly 2.4 kW-h, it's probably safe to assume that the max drive power is less than 500 watts (2.4 kW-h / 10 hours -> 240 watts). Earth side electric vehicles commonly have drive power over 100 kilowatts.

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