A prototype ion engine that uses lithium vapor as a propellant has aced its first tests, achieving 25 times more power than ...

Electric propulsion is increasingly looking like the technology that will underlie a first attempt to walk on the Red Planet.

American space agency NASA announced the first major test of a new lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster that could ...

GOCE’s sophisticated electric ion propulsion system has been switched on and confirmed to be operating normally, marking another crucial milestone in the satellite’s post-launch commissioning phase.

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 ...

Ion engine leap: NASA's new lithium-fed thruster hit 120 kilowatts, vastly surpassing current ion engines and promising efficient deep-space propulsion. Starship V3 milestone: SpaceX static-fired its ...

NASA fired up a prototype of its electromagnetic thruster inside a vacuum chamber, reaching power levels of up to 120 ...

You're on the fourth human mission to Mars, and you're told the Odyssey spacecraft designed to take you there will be the ...

NASA has successfully tested a magnetoplasmadynamic thruster with lithium propellant. The technology is considered key for ...

Click to open image viewer. This is a cesium ion engine developed by the Electro-Optical Systems, Inc. as an experimental high-energy thruster for spacecraft. Ion engines produce extremely low thrusts ...

Space is unforgiving about inefficiency. Every kilogram launched costs somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000 depending on the vehicle – and that’s on a good day with a favorable contract. In that ...