Spacecraft rocket engines come in a variety of forms and use ... Getting that fuel into orbit is costly, too! Ion thrusters, in their various forms, offer an alternative solution – miniscule ...

The paper aimed to assess when any existing ion drive technology could port a large payload on one of several trajectories, ...

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 ...

Ion engines could make interstellar travel faster While interstellar travel for humans is still a long way away from being a possibility, what is more of a plausible and possible alternative is ...

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 ...

Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a quantum engine powered by entanglement—the quantum property ...