A prototype ion engine that uses lithium vapor as a propellant has aced its first tests, achieving 25 times more power than previous ion engines.

NASA’s new electric propulsion engine set a U.S. power record and could transform future Mars missions. The thrusters use ...

A new era for space propulsion? An ion engine twenty-five times more powerful than NASA's current best model has just been successfully tested in the laboratory. This technology, which ...

NASA just nudged its Mars ambitions forward with a lab test of a new ion engine that vastly outmuscles anything it's flown before. The lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster hit 120 kilowatts ...

China’s Mega Engine recently put its Chi engine to the test, firing up the closed-cycle kerosene-liquid oxygen propulsion system for a total of 1,000 seconds across multiple tes ...

The first human Mars explorers won’t have it easy. Every additional day in deep space will increase their exposure to deadly cosmic radiation, while isolation gnaws at their minds and microgravity ...

You're on the fourth human mission to Mars, and you're told the Odyssey spacecraft designed to take you there will be the smoothest ride you'll ever take. It features a newly christened electric ...

According to the US Department of Energy, nuclear thermal propulsion can reduce travel times to Mars by up to 25% and, more importantly, limit a crew’s exposure to cosmic radiation. It would also ...

HyPrSpace’s Baguette One is a suborbital vehicle that serves as a demonstrator for its OB-1 orbital rocket. Credit: HyPrSpace/Aurélien Rimbert WASHINGTON — A French launch startup that recently closed ...

The big picture: In deep-space travel, the race is no longer about who has the biggest rocket – it's about who can build the smartest plasma engine. As the competition to reach Mars intensifies, ...

Humanity’s plans for deep-space exploration hinge on the ability to use basic resources, such as water, to propel rockets to farther destinations in the solar system. Despite decades of ...

The Mandalorian & Grogu arrived at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on May 14, 2026 — the night before NASA's Psyche spacecraft executed a gravity-assist flyby of Mars using a xenon-fueled ion ...