Speaker
Description
Advanced thrusters are needed for deep space missions to Mars and beyond. For such thrusters, it is critical to determine how to generate large thrust-to-power at sufficiently high specific impulse with long lifetime and flexibility in propellant. To address these challenges, we are exploring a new electrodeless Magnetic Reconnection Thruster (e-MRT), which will use asymmetric, inductively-driven, partially ionized magnetic reconnection outflows to provide spacecraft thrust. One of the outflow jets may be blocked by strong magnetic pressure to help generate net momentum transfer to the spacecraft. Not requiring electrodes would mitigate electrode erosion, which is a key constraint on the lifetime of the existing candidate magnetoplasmadynamic and Z-pinch thrusters for deep space missions. Proof-of-principle experiments using a displacement sensor to measure thrust are underway on the Magnetic Reconnection Experiment at PPPL.
