Novel Molecular Propellants for Electric Propulsion

Electric propulsion devices to date have almost exclusively relied on atomic propellants, such as Xenon, Argon, or Krypton. However, there is a growing push to utilize novel molecular propellants. Such propellants have the potential to be compatible with in-situ resource utilization and air-breathing concepts identified for Very Low Earth Orbit operations, could be applicable to multimode operation, and in some cases, exist in a solid form that may simplify propellant storage and flow management. For this reason, papers are sought for a new topical collection in the Journal of Electric Propulsion on topics related to molecular propellants. Some topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Reviews of propellant candidates along with their respective advantages and disadvantages

• Experimental characterization of EP devices operating on molecular propellants

• Novel thruster designs compatible with molecular propellants

• Development of compatible cathodes

• Numerical modeling of loss mechanisms and thruster efficiency

• Studies of atomic processes relevant to molecular propellants such as ionization, excitation, and fragmentation

• Use of molecular propellants in multimode applications

• In-situ resource utilization and propellant beneficiation

• Analysis of spacecraft integration and contamination concerns