More than thirty three million miles from earth a new lander has touched down on the surface of Mars. It is the culmination of years of work by thousands of individuals, and it is powered by batteries made right here in Missouri.
Batteries made by Joplin, Missouri-based EaglePicher Technologies, power the NASA InSight Mars Lander. InSight will begin its study of the interior of Mars, with the aim of helping scientists understand how the planet formed, lessons that could help also shed light on Earth’s origins. It will listen for tremors or “marsquakes” and collect data that will be pieced together in a map of the interior of the red planet.
NASA’s InSight mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base for Mars on May 5, and was the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast of the U.S.
Missouri is home to leading developers and producers of batteries for the defense, space, automotive, and consumer industries. Our batteries power NASA’s space program, including the Curiosity currently driving across Mars. We are in the top three states for battery production and a leading developer of next-generation lithium batteries in the U.S., and that is only one piece of Missouri’s energy solutions industry.
Batteries, solar and wind energy, and energy storage all encompass this growing Missouri industry. Missouri is already home to a large base of energy companies, including EaglePicher, SunEdison, 3M, Emerson Electric and Milbank Manufacturing.
Missouri’s low cost of energy, combined with low cost of living and doing business, positions Missouri as a prime location for manufacturers in the energy sector, and Missouri’s location and extensive logistics infrastructure make it simple and efficient to ship energy-related products around the world.
Missouri’s energy talent is leading the way in energy storage development at research facilities such as the Energy Research and Development Center at Missouri S&T, the Missouri Center for Advanced Power Systems, the Center for Physical and Power Electronics at the University of Missouri and the Lithium Ion Center of Excellence. All of this makes Missouri a prime location to grow your company in the energy industry.
For more information on Missouri’s energy solutions industry check out our industry webpage, or contact Steve Johnson, CEO of Missouri Partnership, at 314.725.2688 or via our contact form. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have, and show you how Missouri Partnership can help with your business expansion and investment needs.
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