NASA is driving space travel with its powerful 12-kilowatt Hall engine, part of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System currently being tested at the Glenn Research Center.
This engine uses ionized xenon for efficient propulsion and plays a key role in the Gateway lunar station for Artemis missions and paves the way for future Mars Exploration.
NASA’s AEPS engine tests
The blue hue of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) is seen in a vacuum chamber at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland during recent engine qualification tests. This 12-kilowatt Hall engine is the most powerful electric engine in production and will be critical for future science and exploration missions to the Moon and beyond.
The blue cloud is a steady stream of ionized xenon gas that is ejected to produce low-speed, highly efficient thrust. These electric propulsion systems accelerate spacecraft to extremely high speeds over time while using only a fraction of the fuel required by chemical propulsion systems, making electric propulsion an excellent choice for space exploration and scientific missions.
Gateway drive: energy for space missions
Three AEPS engines will be mounted on the Power and Propulsion Element, a fundamental component of Gateway. The small lunar space station is critical to the agency’s Artemis missions, which help prepare for manned missions to Mars. The Power and Propulsion Element will provide Gateway with power and high-speed communications and allow it to maintain its unique orbit around the moon.
The AEPS engine was recently returned to NASA Glenn to continue qualification testing for flight certification of the engines.
The Solar Electric Propulsion project is led at NASA Glenn and managed by NASA’s Technology Demonstration Missions program under the direction of the Space Technology Mission Directorate, which oversees a portfolio of technology demonstration projects at NASA centers and with American industrial partners.
