Interesting Engineering on MSN

First-of-its-kind NASA lithium MPD thruster hits 120 kW in ground test

Indian startup GalaxEye has placed its first satellite, Drishti, into orbit aboard a SpaceX ...
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 ...
Hosted on MSN

NASA hits record power in lithium plasma thruster test

NASA has successfully tested a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster at record power levels of 120 kilowatts, 25 times stronger than the Psyche mission's electric thruster. Conducted at the ...

NASA tests lithium thruster: Milestone for manned Mars missions?

NASA has successfully tested a magnetoplasmadynamic thruster with lithium propellant. The technology is considered key for ...
The Debrief

NASA Tests Prototype ‘Magnetoplasmadynamic’ Electric Propulsion Thruster Designed to Power Future Trips to Mars

NASA announced a successful test of a sci-fi-sounding lithium metal vapor electric thruster propulsion system that could ...

NASA's lithium-fed electric thruster could carry humans to Mars and beyond

Inside a long vacuum chamber in Southern California, a spacecraft engine glowed white-hot as it pushed toward a level of ...

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 ...

NASA fires up powerful lithium-fed thruster for trips to Mars

A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to ...
Futurism on MSN

NASA Fires Up Futuristic Plasma Thruster Designed to Take Us to Mars

Yeah, that's really what it looks like. The post NASA Fires Up Futuristic Plasma Thruster Designed to Take Us to Mars ...
Hackaday

Improving Magnetoplasmadynamic Ion Thrusters With Superconductors

Ion thrusters are an amazing spacecraft propulsion technology, providing very high efficiency with relatively little fuel. Yet getting one to produce more thrust than that required to lift a sheet of ...