A powerful new plasma engine has just been unveiled by Chinese engineers – and it is expected to propel China ahead of the United States in the race to develop plasma technology for Mars and other deep space missions.
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The new engine also brings China’s technology closer to that of leader in the field Russia, which recently released an advanced prototype plasma engine capable of taking a ship to Mars in less than two months.
China’s “high-thrust magnetic plasma thruster”, designed by the Xian Aerospace Propulsion Institute, was able to achieve stable operation at its full power of 100 kilowatts.
“The successful ignition this time marks that the technical level of our institute’s magnetic plasma engine has entered the forefront of the world,” the institute wrote in a social media post on Monday.
The team used 3D-printed materials and high-temperature superconducting magnet technology to create the engine, which could be used for things such as interplanetary cargo transport and deep space exploration.
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Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter – along with solids, liquids and gas – in which there is a significant portion of charged particles as ions or electrons. Plasma engines use electricity to generate plasma and eject ions to produce thrust.