Could a laser send a spacecraft to Mars? That's a proposed mission from a group at McGill University, designed to meet a solicitation from NASA. The laser, a 10-meter wide array on Earth, would heat hydrogen plasma in a chamber ...
It has been believed that Hall thrusters, an efficient kind of electric propulsion widely used in orbit, must be large to produce a lot of thrust. Now, a new study from the University of Michigan suggests that smaller Hall ...
Space Exploration
Jan 24, 2023
4
3819
NASA's Psyche spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a six-year journey to a rare metal-covered asteroid.
Space Exploration
Oct 13, 2023
0
90
It's a world like no other: a metal-rich asteroid that could be the remnants of a small planet, or perhaps an entirely new type of celestial body unknown to science.
Space Exploration
Oct 12, 2023
5
325
In May 2022, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Transporter-5 mission into orbit. The mission contained a collection of micro and nanosatellites from both industry and government, including one from MIT Lincoln Laboratory ...
Space Exploration
Dec 12, 2022
0
43
A research group has demonstrated that spontaneously excited plasma waves may be the solution to a long-associated problem with magnetic nozzle plasma thrusters, turning conventional thinking on its head.
Plasma Physics
Dec 6, 2022
0
439
A Tohoku University researcher has increased the performance of a high-power electrodeless plasma thruster, moving us one step closer to deeper explorations into space.
Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2022
0
475
When it comes time for NASA's Psyche spacecraft to power itself through deep space, it'll be more brain than brawn that does the work. Once the stuff of science fiction, the efficient and quiet power of electric propulsion ...
Space Exploration
Sep 20, 2021
1
1057
New research explains how the nervous system in the gut, known as the enteric nervous system (ENS) causes propulsion along the gut, highlighting how similar it behaves to other neural networks in the brain and spinal cord.
Evolution
Aug 10, 2021
0
959
A major component of NASA's Psyche spacecraft has been delivered to the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where the phase known as assembly, test, and launch operations is now underway. Over the next ...
Space Exploration
Mar 29, 2021
1
3309
