Engineers assemble the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) before it begins its 5.5-year endurance test. The thruster generates small amounts of thrust using xenon gas that is ionized and ...

Researchers just test-fired a new type of ion thruster that “breathes” air, and one day, it could help humanity reach Mars and beyond. Better propulsion systems are key to advancing our space ...

What do scanning electron microscopes and satellites have in common? On the face of things, not much, but after seeing [Zachary Tong]’s latest video on liquid metal ion thrusters, we see that they ...

When it comes to space exploration, large vehicles get most of the press -- but a team on KickStarter wants to build an engine that could power nanoscale satellites on their own journeys of ...

The space propulsion company Accion Systems has announced that they will officially start taking orders for their micro-propulsion systems designed for CubeSats and other small satellites. The company ...

It sounds like a NASA pipe dream: a new spacecraft thruster that’s up to 40 percent more power efficient than today’s. Even better, its fuel costs less than a thousandth as much and weighs an eighth ...

Demand for electric propulsion is growing for space applications and the proposed technological solutions are evolving fast. Gridded Ion Technology allows a more efficient management of Xe, providing ...

A UCLA doctoral student aspires to make space travel more accessible by reducing the size of spacecraft-propelling technology. Stephen Samples, who studies mechanical and aerospace engineering, is ...

The simplest way to explain the space exploration benefit of an ion thruster over a rocket is to compare them in simple “Tortoise and the Hare” style: The faster of the two – in this case, the rocket ...

Plasmoid thrusters have had successful proof of principle experiments done in the lab at Princeton University. The systems should be compact and simple and based upon magnetism present in solar flares ...

A doctoral candidate at the University of Sydney designed an ion thruster — a system that propels spacecraft by expelling ions to create thrust — that destroys the fuel efficiency world record set by ...