NASA tests lithium-fed ion engine prototype, targeting nuclear-powered Mars missions
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tested a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster that ran up to 120 kilowatts—about 25 times more powerful than the Psyche mission’s ion engine—accruing five test firings. The team aims to push power toward 0.5–1 megawatt soon and ultimately several megawatts, enabling crews-to-Mars scenarios powered by space-based nuclear energy (Space Reactor-1 Freedom). Unlike traditional solar-powered ion engines, this approach could operate far from the Sun, paving the way for a future armada of high-power ion engines for crewed Mars missions.