Re: Curiosity will be nuclear powered
Seems to me to be a superb option. More reliable without the extremely large solar panels necessary to power a large rover, probably more power in a lighter package, and maybe longer lived than one could project for your average solar panel array.
And it might be quite complicated to get the large array deployed.
I think it's kind of neat that they won't have to wait around for power. What is really scary to me about this mission is the landing procedure. It will be truly amazing if they can pull that off.