Ion engines won’t get you out of Earth’s gravity ... The higher the specific impulse of a rocket thruster, the more thrust it generates per mass of fuel. Impulse is the integral of force ...

The AEPS is a solar electric propulsion system that uses xenon as its propellant, much like existing ion engines. Where it differs is in the power output, which should allow it to work as the ...

Unlike most interplanetary probes, Dawn is not propelled by a chemical rocket engine, but by a solar-electric ion propulsion system, particularly suitable for long-distance flights. This innovative ...

Supercomputer simulations advance electric propulsion by tackling ion plume challenges for safer space missions.

Unlike chemical rockets that throw out gasses for propulsion, ion engines are powered by individual atoms, which makes them much more fuel efficient and allows satellites to operate for longer.

Predicting the lifetime of an electric ion thruster is notoriously difficult. You have to account for the chamber wall effects, which are not present in space environments. Researchers within several ...

The space agency is developing a brand-new ion thruster engine to slowly propel an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) spaceship to a boulder in space, capture it, and bring it near the moon where ...

Hollow cathodes are used as part of both Hall effect and gridded ion thrusters, which are some of the most common forms of electric propulsion in use today. The operation of hollow cathodes, despite ...

A research team presents an AI assessor for Hall-effect ion thrusters, the engines of satellites and space probes.

Advanced propulsion technologies, such as ion engines and nuclear thermal rockets, are also being explored for future space exploration missions.