NASA tests new super ion engine for lunar station
New thrusters are being tested for the Gateway space station, which will be positioned in lunar orbit. The AEPS engines will be twice as powerful as current in-space ion thrusters.
12punto
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne are taking a major step toward testing a new ion thruster engine that will assist in the exploration of the Moon. According to a statement from the agency, the engine, called the Advanced Electric Propulsion System or AEPS, is undergoing qualification tests at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The AEPS engines are aimed to be twice as powerful as current in-space ion thrusters.
NASA TESTS NEW ION ENGINE
As reported by Donanımhaber, the AEPS is a Hall-effect thruster that accelerates ions to generate thrust.
The AEPS uses electricity generated by solar arrays to create a steady stream of ionized xenon gas, producing low but highly efficient thrust. According to NASA, the 12-kilowatt Hall thruster will be the most powerful electric propulsion thruster in production. As a product of state-of-the-art technology, the AEPS will be twice as powerful as existing technology.
Clayton Kachele, the AEPS project manager at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, said in a statement during an earlier test run in July:
“While current electric propulsion systems use about four and a half kilowatts of power, we are significantly increasing the power in a single thruster here. This capability opens up a world of opportunities for future space exploration, and the AEPS will take us further and faster.”
The thrusters will be used in the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) of NASA's planned lunar space station, Gateway, which will support Artemis missions and more. The xenon gas used for the engines will be among the materials that need to be replenished by cargo missions to Gateway to ensure the small lunar station operates smoothly. To this end, a special Xenon Transfer System (XTS) is being developed by OHB in Bremen, Germany.
NASA will conduct a second thruster qualification test in 2024. This test will simulate the conditions the AEPS is likely to encounter during Gateway's initial orbit raising and transition into lunar orbit. NASA plans to operate the thrusters in vacuum chambers for a total of 23 thousand hours over a roughly four-year testing process.
The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) of the Gateway is currently scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in November 2025. Also in 2025, the Gateway's HALO, or Habitation and Logistics Outpost, will be launched. On the other hand, the on-orbit assembly of the Gateway space station will be no earlier than September 2028, and this process will begin with the Artemis IV mission.
Gateway is seen as a vital component of the NASA-led Artemis missions to return to the Moon and chart a path for the first human missions to Mars. The small space station will be a multi-purpose outpost in lunar orbit and will provide essential support for lunar surface missions, be a destination for science, and serve as a staging point for deeper space exploration.