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An ion engine several times more powerful than any previously flown is being tested by NASA. It could propel a spacecraft all the way to Saturn's moon Titan. Ion engines operate by removing electrons from atoms of a gas – usually xenon – and then accelerating the resulting ions through an electric field. The ions are shot out the back of the engine to create thrust. The engines provide much less thrust at any given time than do rockets. But they are much more fuel efficient, providing a steady source of propulsion that could ideally be used to take spacecraft...

The microwave discharge ion engines onboard HAYABUSA asteroid explorer have marked space operation of twenty thousands hour and unit as the accumulated operational time on December 9th. HAYABUSA spacecraft, which was launched on May 2003, succeeded the Earth swing-by on May this year and continues to transfer into the asteroid using the acceleration by the ion engines. They generated 1,300m/s delta-V consuming 20kg propellant up to now. After September the space maneuver using three ion engines was throttled down in order to adapt power reduction of the solar array panels due to enlargement of solar distance. Furthermore one of three...