At the HIT Plasma Propulsion Lab (HPPL), headed by Daren Yu, SESE researchers have been investigating electric propulsion technology, which creates thrust by expelling ions. A key breakthrough is ...

By studying these microscopic interactions, Cui aims to better understand how the plume of plasma emitted interacts with the spacecraft itself. Electric propulsion works by ionizing a neutral gas ...

"Electric propulsion works by ionizing a neutral gas, usually xenon, and then using electric fields to accelerate the resulting ions. The ions, now forming a high-speed plasma beam, push the ...