Plasma jet engines promise a future of fuel-free, electrically driven flight, but the technology faces a stubborn obstacle that no amount of enthusiasm can wish away. Ionizing air to generate thrust ...

Russia is quietly testing a new plasma propulsion system that, if it performs as claimed, could dramatically change how long it takes to travel to Mars. Early results suggest a leap in speed and ...

A laboratory in Troitsk, Russia, may have just nudged humanity closer to interplanetary commuting. Scientists at Rosatom, the country's state nuclear corporation, have revealed a working prototype of ...

Being more efficient and more powerful than chemical rockets, plasma engines are seen as the future of human spaceflight. While NASA-backed plasma rocket projects aim for travel times to Mars be just ...

Something to look forward to: Scientists have created a laboratory prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine that could revolutionize space travel. Based on a magnetic plasma accelerator, this ...

In the endless pursuit of faster, more efficient travel, engineers have been cooking up all kinds of new forms of propulsion. One of the most interesting to emerge in the last decade is the electric ...