The plume of ions jetting out from the spacecraft therefore acts to provide thrust. It takes a while to build up momentum, however, because, despite moving at high velocity, the ion plume is ...

Regardless, ion propulsion is real and we have it today on more than one spacecraft. However, MIT recently demonstrated an ion-powered airplane. How exciting! An airplane with no moving parts that ...

However, when applied over a great deal of time in the vacuum of space, it can lead to a huge change in velocity, or delta V. This manner of operation means that an ion thruster and a small mass ...

This innovative propulsion concept was first used in 1998 on NASA’s Deep Space 1 mission to Comet Borrelly. In 2004 the Europeans successfully tested their own ion propulsion system on the Smart 1 ...

The Space Systems research group is involved in aerospace engineering, ion space propulsion, planetary exploration, control systems, and ultra-strong composites. The Michigan Tech Aerospace ...

We are at a critical time and supporting climate journalism is more important than ever. Science News and our parent organization, the Society for Science, need your help to strengthen ...

Ion engines propel a spacecraft one atom at a time. The devices rip electrons off xenon gas to create a stream of charged particles. Next the ions pass through a magnetic field, which speeds up ...

Ion beam technology was developed at NASA in the 1960's as a means of producing thrust on spacecraft. Ion beam sources can be used for depositing precise oxides, diamond-like carbon, and other useful ...