#Curiosity

Spacecraft Power Systems: Solar Arrays, RTGs, and the Physics of Energy in Space

How do spacecraft generate power? From silicon solar cells degraded by particle radiation to plutonium-fuelled RTGs running for decades — the engineering of spacecraft power systems and the constraints that determine which technology fits which mission.

Mars EDL: The Seven Minutes of Terror and the Engineering of Soft Landing

Mars has just enough atmosphere to create heating but not enough to slow a spacecraft to a safe landing speed. How engineers solved the entry, descent and landing problem for Curiosity and Perseverance — and why the solution fails at human-mission scales.