Ionic thrusters and technology of the sort have often been associated within the writings of science fiction. But, thanks to scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, this has been made possible. An ion, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “An atom or group of atoms that carries a positive or negative electric charge as a result of having lost or gained one or more electrons.” With those words we can assume that a positive and negative ion work along the same lines as magnets, the positive ions will attract negative ions and vice versa.
The thruster operates by ionizing gases/propellant, making the gas atoms lose/gain electrons to give them a charge. Currently, NASA is ionizing these gases by sending high energy particles directly at the gas which knocks off an electron from the atom thus giving it a positive charge. In the future, NASA will implement the Annular Engine into their designs. According to NASA in early 2016, ” It uses a new thruster design that yields a total (annular) beam area that is 2 times greater than that of NEXT.”
So, within the span of 5-10 years the basis of spacecraft propulsion will be changed forever. First with the NEXT (NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster), then later with the Annular Engine. These contributions to NASA’s space tech arsenal should help NASA with their primary objectives in the new decade such as a manned mission to Mars, sending satellites/probes into deep space, examining bio-friendly exoplanets, etc.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/Ion_Propulsion1.html
