NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover is loaded with technology developed by the Department of Energy and our National Labs, including a nuclear battery fueled by plutonium-238. In this episode, Direct Current follows the rover’s power source on its incredible seven-year, 5,000-mile journey from the lab to the launch pad.

Mars 2020, Part 1: Powered by Plutonium

Direct Current is a podcast about energy -- the kind that lights our homes, powers our lives and shapes our world. From the U.S. Department of Energy's digital team in Washington, D.C., Direct Current brings you fresh, insightful stories of how we generate and use electricity, what that means for the planet, and the cutting-edge science that's driving a global energy revolution.

Science

Government

Direct Current is a podcast about energy -- the kind that lights our homes, powers our lives and shapes our world. From the U.S. Department of Energy's digital team in Washington, D.C., Direct Current brings you fresh, insightful stories of how we generate and use electricity, what that means for the planet, and the cutting-edge science that's driving a global energy revolution.

Direct Current is a podcast about energy -- the kind that lights our homes, powers our lives and shapes our world.&nbsp;From the U.S. Department of Energy's digital team in Washington, D.C., Direct Current brings you fresh, insightful stories of how we generate and use electricity, what that means for the planet,&nbsp;and the cutting-edge science that's driving a global energy revolution.

Share Mars 2020, Part 1: Powered by Plutonium

Sign up to save your podcasts

Mars 2020, Part 1: Powered by Plutonium

Mars 2020, Part 1: Powered by Plutonium