The blue flame of progress
NASA’s Glenn Research Center recently tested the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) in a vacuum chamber, showcasing its distinctive blue hue. This 12-kilowatt Hall thruster, essential for future Moon and deep-space missions, uses ionized xenon gas for efficient, low-thrust propulsion. The thruster will be a key component of Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (Gateway being a proposed space station operating in lunar orbit), supporting the Artemis missions and preparations for human exploration of Mars.
