ion drive
The BepiColombo Mission To Mercury is Losing Power
BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury. It was launched in 2018 on a complex trajectory to the Solar…
Ion Engines Could Work on Earth too, to Make Silent, Solid-State Aircraft
Ion engines are the best technology for sending spacecraft on long missions. They're not suitable for launching spacecraft against powerful…
Earth Observation Satellites Could be Flown Much Lower than Current Altitudes and Do Better Science
Satellite engineers know what every photographer knows: get close to your subject to get better pictures. Not just visible light…
This is What an Air-Breathing Electric Thruster’s Intake Would Look Like
Like all other technologies, satellite technology has grown in leaps and bounds in the past couple decades. Satellites can monitor…
This Powerful Ion Engine Will Be Flying on NASA’s DART Mission to Try and Redirect an Asteroid
Despite humanity's current struggle against the novel coronavirus, and despite it taking up most of our attention, other threats still…
Mercury-Bound BepiColombo is About to Start Using the Most Powerful Ion Engines Ever Sent to Space
A handful of spacecraft have used ion engines to reach their destinations, but none have been as powerful as the…
Astronomy Cast Ep. 507: From Fiction to Fact : Ion Drive
Ion engines are a mainstay of science fiction, featured in both Star Trek and Wars. But this is a very…
Will We Ever Reach Another Star?
We hear about discoveries of exoplanets every day. So how long will it take us to find another planet like…