Credit: NASA, public domain Before we dive into the world of ion thrusters, it’s important to understand the concept of specific impulse and fuel efficiency for rocket thrusters of all kinds.

Inspired by NASA aerospace engineering, this project features a plasma thruster, designed to maximize efficiency and increase ...

An curved arrow pointing right. NASA is working on the next generation of space propulsion, and it's looking very wimpy — but incredibly efficient. The space agency is developing a brand-new ion ...

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 ...

The strict safety standards that NASA requires for its missions had to be met before the spacecraft swap was OK'd. "These thrusters had a higher life than we have flown before for commercial crew ...

Top-Level PPE Conceptual Ion Propulsion System (IPS) Block Diagram. (Credit: NASA) Originally designed since 2015 to propel the AARM mission to fetch rocks from an asteroid, when AARM was ...

May 2 at 10:52 a.m. PASADENA, Calif. — Laurie Leshin, the new boss at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, showed up recently at the Mars Yard, where engineers test rovers by forcing them to ...