The AEPS is a solar electric propulsion system that uses xenon as its propellant, much like existing ion engines. Where it differs is in the power output, which should allow it to work as the ...

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 ...

Either way, ion propulsion is real and NASA has toyed with ... Institute of Technology and Higher Studies 3D printed tiny ion engines. The engine is about the size of a dime and, like all ion ...

Ion propulsion is already being used to power ... The Vasimr is designed to produce much more thrust than a standard ion engine. The electricity needed can be generated in different ways.

Unlike chemical rockets that throw out gasses for propulsion, ion engines are powered by individual atoms, which makes them ...

Ion engines propel a spacecraft one atom at a ... told Tech Insider in an email. "But the thruster can be fired for cumulated periods of time much above those of chemical spacecrafts," he wrote.

The space agency is developing a brand-new ion thruster engine to slowly propel an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) spaceship to a boulder in space, capture it, and bring it near the moon where ...

Hollow cathodes are used as part of both Hall effect and gridded ion thrusters, which are some of the most common forms of electric propulsion in use today. The operation of hollow cathodes, despite ...

Advanced propulsion technologies, such as ion engines and nuclear thermal rockets, are also being explored for future space exploration missions.