By News staff
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- NASA's new Mars rover is powered by a high-tech battery made by a company in the midst of moving from Stonington, Conn. to East Greenwich, R.I.
Yardney Technical Products created the lithium ion battery for Curiosity, the rover that landed on the Martian surface Monday morning.
The company also made the batteries for other missions to Mars, including the Spirit and Opportunity rovers and the Phoenix spacecraft. The battery works in conjunction with the rover's plutonium power generator.
More than $1 million was spent designing and testing the battery.
President Vince Yevoli says he can't express the pride and excitement he and his employees feel knowing their battery is powering a mission on another world.