The first human Mars explorers won’t have it easy. Every additional day in deep space will increase their exposure to deadly ...

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

Record power levels: NASA’s experimental MPD thruster achieved 120 kW in tests, the highest electric propulsion power level ever reached in the U.S. Mars mission potential: The lithium-fed engine ...

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 ...

mileage on the engine increases. That wisdom does not hold true for NASA’s ion engine, whose odometer continues to spin to the delight of its owners. This little engine that could has more than made ...

Sending an object to another star is still the stuff of science fiction. But some concrete missions could get us at least part way there. These "interstellar precursor missions" include a trip to the ...

Over the last several months, we’ve been enjoying a front-row seat as [Jay Bowles] of Plasma Channel has been developing and perfecting his design for a high voltage multi-stage ionic thruster. With ...

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