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NASA tests record-breaking ion thruster for Mars missions

NASA has successfully tested a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic thruster reaching 120 kilowatts, 25 times more powerful than ...

NASA Fires Up Record-Breaking Plasma Thruster for Future Mars Missions

NASA just tested a blazing-hot plasma engine that could help carry humans to Mars.
Futurism

Test Suggests Ion Thrusters Could Power Crewed Interplanetary Missions

A form of electric propulsion known as Hall thrusters — a type of ion thruster — may actually pack more bang for the buck than expected. Hall thrusters have conventionally been used to adjust the ...

NASA’s Lithium-Fed Nuclear Thruster Flares to Life in First of Its Kind Test

NASA fired up a prototype of its electromagnetic thruster inside a vacuum chamber, reaching power levels of up to 120 ...
autoevolution

NASA Tests a Spacecraft Thruster That Runs on Lithium Metal Vapor, Could Take Us to Mars

American space agency NASA announced the first major test of a new lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster that could ...
Yahoo

Powerful new thrusters for NASA's moon-orbiting Gateway space station get a test (photo)

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A solar electric propulsion thruster emits the blue hue of Xenon gas during testing. Vibrant blue light emanates in a circular ...
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NASA tests record-breaking lithium thruster for Mars missions

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has successfully tested a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic thruster, achieving a U.S. record of 120 kilowatts—over 25 times more powerful than current spacecraft ...