05/24/2013 12:00 AM EDT
This
image shows a cutting-edge solar-electric propulsion thruster in
development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., that
uses xenon ions for propulsion. An earlier version of this
solar-electric propulsion engine has been flying on NASA's Dawn mission
to the asteroid belt.
This engine is being considered as part of the Asteroid Initiative, a proposal to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it.
This image was taken through a porthole in a vacuum chamber at JPL where the ion engine is being tested.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This engine is being considered as part of the Asteroid Initiative, a proposal to robotically capture a small near-Earth asteroid and redirect it safely to a stable orbit in the Earth-moon system where astronauts can visit and explore it.
This image was taken through a porthole in a vacuum chamber at JPL where the ion engine is being tested.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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