A powerful new electromagnetic thruster has taken a major step forward after a successful high-energy test at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Fueled by lithium vapor and driven by intense magnetic ...

NASA just tested a blazing-hot plasma engine that could help carry humans to Mars.

Every year, companies and space agencies launch hundreds of rockets into space—and that number is set to grow dramatically with ambitious missions to the moon, Mars and beyond. But these dreams hinge ...

For years, nuclear propulsion sat in the same category as so many ambitious space ideas, impressive on paper, always a few ...

Rocket Lab (NasdaqCM:RKLB) has introduced its Gauss high volume electric satellite thruster. The company is setting up production capacity for more than 200 Gauss thrusters per year. The new thruster ...

In the relentless quest to make journeys to Mars shorter and safer, Russian scientists have recently turned heads with a bold claim: A plasma-based propulsion system could cut the Earth–Mars transit ...

Viewed from orbit, Jackass Flats — situated in southern Nevada about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas — could easily be confused for Mars. The alluvial basin is full of tan and gray regolith, hued ...

Researchers at Texas A&M University have demonstrated a laser-driven propulsion system that can lift ...

This week, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced the agency will be developing the "first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft" ahead of a planned 2028 launch to Mars. The ambition of the ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) (THE CONVERSATION) Every year, companies and space agencies launch hundreds of rockets ...