ion engine

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is currently in the final stages of its historic mission to place a satellite in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. The mission will take 16 months and will see the explorer capture detailed measurements of Ceres, greatly improving our knowledge of the solar system.

Like the end of a very long and eventful road trip, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has received instructions for executing a series of maneuvers that will take it on its final approach phase, which will end with it going into orbit around Ceres.

NASA is asking for proposals to develop new technologies to send astronauts to the asteroids and Mars, using "sustainable, evolvable, multi-use space capabilities."

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has recovered from an unexpected phenomenon that resulted in the robotic explorer going into safe mode on September 11, mirroring a similar event that affected the spacecraft three years ago as it approached the protoplanet Vesta.

NASA has announced an Asteroid Grand Challenge aimed at protecting the Earth while exploiting the resources of the asteroid belt.

On Monday, NASA announced that its advanced ion propulsion engine operated for 48,000 hours, or five and a half years, giving it the record for the longest test duration of any type of space propulsion system.

MIT has carried out studies of ionic thrusters that indicate they are more efficient than previously thought.

NASA scientists have succeeded in improving ion engines for deep space operations.

NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion engine has set a new record by clocking up 43,000 hours of continuous operation.

A new ionic motor has been designed to extend the capabilities of the new breed of small satellites, opening them up for exploration and observation missions.

QinetiQ just announced a £23m contract with EADS Astrium for the supply of its propulsion system for the BepiColombo mission.

A new ion rocket engine could cut months off a manned trip to Mars and save hundreds of billion dollars.