The NASA Psyche Asteroid Mission, which marked its launch last week as the first-ever mission to a metal asteroid, is about to make an impressive display by creating a literal blue trail as it journeys toward its destination, the asteroid Psyche.
During the initial 100 days of its mission, the spacecraft will undergo a remarkable propulsion system switch, primarily driven by a unique Hall thruster mechanism. This Hall thruster will emit a blue glow as it ionizes xenon, a noble gas serving as the propellant for moving the spacecraft. Notably, xenon gas is also used in applications like car headlights and plasma televisions, and this technology has only been available for NASA spaceflight since 2015.
But why have engineers opted for this particular technology?
Efficiency is a primary focus for engineers when planning space missions, and this technology offers a means to enhance it. To achieve this, engineers have turned to electric thrusters, which come in various types. Among them are ion and Hall thrusters.
Dan Geobel, NASA’s Psyche chief engineer, explained in a blog post, “There are many different types of electric thrusters, almost as many as there are different makers of cars.” He humorously added, “They can probably be considered the Tesla versions of space propulsion.”
Ion thrusters, for instance, employ high electric voltages to generate plasma and expel ions into space. While effective, NASA noted that they may not be the fastest propulsion method available.
On the other hand, Hall thrusters use a magnetic field to circulate electrons in a circular motion, producing a beam of ions. While not known for their efficiency, the Psyche mission team chose these thrusters due to their ability to reduce the spacecraft’s size, resulting in a more efficient overall design.
These thrusters require both power, which they receive from solar panels collecting energy from the sun, and a substance to ionize, in this case, xenon gas.
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