A prototype ion engine that uses lithium vapor as a propellant has aced its first tests, achieving 25 times more power than previous ion engines.
NASA just nudged its Mars ambitions forward with a lab test of a new ion engine that vastly outmuscles anything it's flown before. The lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster hit 120 kilowatts ...
CLEVELAND — A small robotic surveyor arrives to explore a near-Earth asteroid. Another robotic spacecraft is returning to Earth with a pristine comet surface sample. Meanwhile, a robotic explorer is ...
Space debris is a growing threat to satellites and missions, with over 14,000 pieces already cluttering low-Earth orbit. To address this, Kazunori Takahashi, a researcher at Tohoku University in Japan ...
A new era for space propulsion? An ion engine twenty-five times more powerful than NASA's current best model has just been successfully tested in the laboratory. This technology, which combines ...
The first human Mars explorers won’t have it easy. Every additional day in deep space will increase their exposure to deadly cosmic radiation, while isolation gnaws at their minds and microgravity ...
The NASA planned 2028 nuclear powered ion drive spacecraft, SR-1 Freedom will have a 20 kilowatt nuclear reactor. SR-1 Freedom will use 20-plus kilowatt fission reactor fueled by High-Assay ...