What do scanning electron microscopes and satellites have in common? On the face of things, not much, but after seeing [Zachary Tong]’s latest video on liquid metal ion thrusters, we see that they ...

BepiColombo, the joint ESA/JAXA spacecraft on a mission to Mercury, is now firing its thrusters for the first time in flight. On Sunday, BepiColombo carried out the first successful manoeuver using ...

Rockets might be fiery fun, but they’re big, bulky, and heavy. Ion thrusters, sci-fi as they sound, are real and these penny-sized ones are probably the future of steering small satellites in orbit.

LOGAN, Utah–Water-based thruster specialist Pale Blue plans to demonstrate an ion thruster in early 2025. The Japanese company has delivered its water-based ion thruster demonstrator to the Japan ...

In 2018, Elon Musk put a Tesla in space. Like many of the billionaire’s antics, it was a publicity stunt. However, it pointed to an undeniable truth: the future of space travel is electric. Most ...

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 ...

A rendezvous with the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche is scheduled for 2029. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. NASA's mission to the ...

The European Space Agency and the Australian National University have successfully tested a new design of spacecraft ion engine that dramatically improves performance over present thrusters and marks ...

Psyche is gently gliding to its target asteroid by expelling ionized xenon. Psyche is gently gliding to its target asteroid by expelling ionized xenon. is a former weekend editor who covered tech and ...