National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Tests High-Power Lithium-Fed Plasma Engine for Mars Missions

Key facts

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully conducted high-power testing of a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
• The prototype engine achieved a power output of 120 kilowatts (kW), marking a 25-fold increase over the electric propulsion systems used in current deep-space probes like the Psyche spacecraft.
• The MPD thruster operates by heating a tungsten electrode to over 2,800 degrees Celsius to transform lithium vapor into plasma, which is then accelerated through a magnetic field to generate constant thrust.
• NASA plans to integrate this technology with Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) systems, such as the proposed Space Reactor-1 Freedom, to meet the 2 to 4 megawatt power requirement for crewed Mars missions.
• The engine technology aims to use 90% less propellant than traditional chemical rockets and must demonstrate the capability to operate continuously for over 23,000 hours for interplanetary travel.