Ion propulsion is preferred for deep space cruising because it's more fuel-efficient PASADENA, Calif.—Surrounded by engineers, NASA chief Charles Bolden inspected a prototype spacecraft engine ...

The space agency would launch an ion-powered unmanned spacecraft to snare a yet-to-be-selected small asteroid in 2019 and park it in the moon’s neighbourhood. Then a spacewalking team would hop ...

NASA’s Psyche mission, which aims to explore the metal-rich asteroid Psyche, has hit a snag on its journey. As reported in a NASA blog post from April 29, 2025, the spacecraft has encountered ...

Nasa's Space Electric Rocket Test 2, which was launched into earth orbit in 1970, held the previous record for ion propulsion, thrusting for about 161 days.

Boeing and NASA say they’ll consider landing dates once the spacewalks are over. The capsule can remain at the space station for 45 days or longer if needed, Boeing said.

(NASA/ESA/ J.-Y. Li (University of Maryland)/G. Bacon (STScI) ) Dawn has been moving with ion propulsion thrusters, which are commonly used in satellites.

The Ion Space Propulsion Lab at Michigan Tech is a collection of research, development, and educational laboratories dedicated to advancing spacecraft technology. Doctoral research students build and ...