As new materials and manufacturing techniques are discovered, their benefits transform every branch of science and engineering. In spacecraft propulsion, a new generation of ion engines could provide unprecedented performance and flexibility in space mission design.
References
Krejci, D., Mier-Hicks, F., Thomas, R., Haag, T. & Lozano, P. Emission characteristics of passively fed electrospray microthrusters with propellant reservoirs. J. Spacecr. Rockets 54, 447–458 (2017).
Tanner,, E. E. L. Ionic liquids charge ahead. Nat. Chem. 14, 842 (2022).
Gallud, X. & Lozano, P. C. The emission properties, structure and stability of ionic liquid menisci undergoing electrically assisted ion evaporation. J. Fluid Mech. 933, A43 (2022).
Levchenko, I. et al. Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials. Nat. Commun. 9, 879 (2018).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lozano, P.C. Design and microstructuring of materials to boost spacecraft ion propulsion. Nat Rev Mater (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00664-3
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-024-00664-3
- Springer Nature Limited