Could NASA's lithium-plasma engine be the key to getting humans to Mars?

NASA is working on a lithium-plasma electric thruster that uses roughly 90% less fuel than chemical rockets. Can this new ...

NASA bets big on nuclear engines to cut journey times to Mars

Nasa is developing ways to use nuclear power to send spacecraft to their destinations. Nuclear propulsion could greatly ...
New Atlas

NASA's mega ion engine clears a fiery test on the road to Mars

The first human Mars explorers won’t have it easy. Every additional day in deep space will increase their exposure to deadly ...

NASA’s Lithium-Fed Nuclear Thruster Flares to Life in First of Its Kind Test

NASA fired up a prototype of its electromagnetic thruster inside a vacuum chamber, reaching power levels of up to 120 kilowatts—the highest achieved in U.S. tests of an electric propulsion system.

NASA Fires Up Record-Breaking Plasma Thruster for Future Mars Missions

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

Here is NASA’s plan for nuking Gateway and sending it to Mars

NASA’s announcement Tuesday that it will “pause” work on a lunar space station and focus on building a surface base on the Moon was no big surprise to anyone paying attention to the Trump ...
Morning Overview on MSN

NASA fires up a lithium-fed thruster at 120 kilowatts — the most powerful electric engine the agency has ever tested for trips to Mars

On February 24, 2026, inside a vacuum chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, engineers ignited ...
AOL

NASA's lithium-fed electric thruster could carry humans to Mars and beyond

Inside a long vacuum chamber in Southern California, a spacecraft engine glowed white-hot as it pushed toward a level of power the United States has not reached before with this kind of electric ...