So it's really interesting to see that Perseverance is still running
with an RTG giving about 120Ws of power, but of course some
instruments and activities need more, so they also have baterries on
board for the surge demands.
Since the Stirling cycle power systems have passed 14+ years of
continuous operation, and seem to give more power per kg of mass, why
wasn't this used on perseverance? Or is it planned for any future
rovers? Or other orbital missions?
It would seem that having a bigger power budget would be a good thing
for any rover or orbiter, if only so you can push higher power
transmissions back to earth more easily.
