A cutting-edge solar-electric propulsion thruster that uses xenon ions for propulsion, in development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Image © NASA/JPL-Caltech
An earlier version of this solar-electric propulsion engine has flown on NASA‘s Dawn mission to the asteroid belt.
This engine is being considered as part of the Asteroid Initiative, a proposal to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it. This image was taken through a porthole in a vacuum chamber at JPL where the ion engine is being tested.
source NASA
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