Spaceflight 🚀Liquid and solid propellant 🔥 #rocket engines feature low mass efficiency due to the thermodynamic limitations and extremely low efficiency at small thrust. The electric 🔋 thrusters do not pose limits on the propellant exhaust velocity and the propellant mass consumption may be very low https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02269-7
#ElectricPropulsion #PlasmaThruster #IonThruster #HallThruster
Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials - Nature Communications
Miniaturized spacecraft built from advanced nanomaterials are poised for unmanned space exploration. In this review, the authors examine the integration of nanotechnology in electric propulsion systems and propose the concept of self-healing and adaptive thrusters.