Advances in Thruster Technology Lead the Way to Mars

Hall thrusters are an efficient type of electric propulsion system often used in orbiting spacecraft. It was previously thought that Hall thrusters required greater mass to generate greater thrust. Now, a team led by Benjamin Jorns suggests that smaller Hall thrusters can still be used to generate greater thrust. The research team challenged accepted limits by running a 9 kilowatt Hall thruster up to 45 kilowatts while maintaining roughly 80% of its nominal efficiency. Their findings indicate that thruster power is dictated by engineering limitations, not limitations in physics.
Benjamin Jorns is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. aero.engin.umich.edu/people/j...
Paper:
"Operation and Performance of a Magnetically Shielded Hall Thruster at Ultrahigh Current Densities"
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
January 2023
arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.20...
DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-0842
Read more:
U-M Plasmadynamics & Electric Propulsion Laboratory - pepl.engin.umich.edu/
aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10...
link.springer.com/article/10....
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[@slevinshafel9395]

wow from 9 to 45kW. and 80% That numbers still sound good.

[@akiko009]

Unless this engine still makes sense with a working medium that is more available than krypton, it won't be going far. Argon is the likely candidate, but does it scale as well?

[@PercyZahl]

that is exactly what I am curious or wonder about -- where does all the Xe, Kr, ... (super expensive also) come from, how much is needed for a realistic single flight to Mars? Guess can't be recovered...

[@akiko009]

@@PercyZahl They come from the atmosphere as a byproduct (or an intentional additional step) of liquid nitrogen production.
Xe and Kr prices are volatile because of their scarcity. The only one that's available in high enough concentration to be reliably inexpensive is Argon (about 1% of the atmosphere is Argon).
Hall thrusters can use Argon, but it's about half the density of Krypton, which means the bang for the watt might not scale the same.

[@Raymond-qc9hg]

I use this kind of engine on satellites in kerbal space program a lot