Idaho Lab Helping NASA with Rover Project

A piece of Idaho will be roaming mars  when NASA’s rover lands on the red planet next month. Scientists at the INL in Eastern Idaho are busy developing the battery to power NASA's rover, dubbed Curiosity.

Program director Steve Johnson says the 4 foot long battery is made up of modules which the lab has been producing. Scientists have been producing roughly one module a day.

NASA says Curiosity is about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Johnson says developing the sort of technology is taking a team of 50 to 70 eastern Idahoans working in shifts around the clock 7 days a week.

NASA will launch Curiosity into space the day after Thanksgiving, and it's expected to land in August 2012.