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A technology that could propel crewed missions to Mars and robotic spacecraft throughout the solar system was recently put to the test at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. On Feb. 24, for the first time in years and at power levels exceeding any previous test in the United States, a team fired up an electromagnetic thruster that runs on lithium metal vapor.

This prototype achieved power levels beyond the highest-power electric thrusters on any of the agency’s current spacecraft. Valuable data from the first firing of this thruster will help inform an upcoming series of tests.

“At NASA, we work on many things at once, and we haven’t lost sight of Mars. The successful performance of our thruster in this test demonstrates real progress toward sending an American astronaut to set foot on the Red Planet,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “This marks the first time in the United States that an electric propulsion system has operated at power levels this high, reaching up to 120 kilowatts. We will continue to make strategic investments that will propel that next giant leap.”

During five ignitions, the tungsten electrode at the thruster’s center glowed bright white, reaching over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,800 degrees Celsius). The work was conducted in JPL’s Electric Propulsion Lab, home to the condensable metal propellant vacuum facility, a unique national asset for safely testing electric thrusters that use metal vapor propellants at up to megawatt-class power levels.

Powering up

Electric propulsion uses up to 90% less propellant than traditional, high-thrust chemical rockets. Current electric propulsion thrusters, like those powering NASA’s Psyche mission, use solar power to accelerate propellants, producing a low, continuous thrust that reaches high speeds over time. NASA JPL is testing a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster, a technology that has been researched since the 1960s but never flown operationally. The MPD engine differs from existing thrusters by using high currents interacting with a magnetic field to electromagnetically accelerate lithium plasma.

During the test, the team achieved power levels of up to 120 kilowatts. That’s over 25 times the power of the thrusters on Psyche, which is currently operating the highest-power electric thrusters of any NASA spacecraft. In the vacuum of space, the gentle but steady force Psyche’s thrusters provide over time accelerates the spacecraft to 124,000 mph.

“Designing and building these thrusters over the last couple of years has been a long lead-up to this first test,” said James Polk, senior research scientist at JPL. “It’s a huge moment for us because we not only showed the thruster works, but we also hit the power levels we were targeting. And we know we have a good testbed to begin addressing the challenges to scaling up.”

Going electric

To view the test, Polk peered through a small portal into the 26-foot-long (8-meter-long) water-cooled vacuum chamber. Inside, the thruster flared to life, its nozzle-shaped outer electrode glowing incandescent as it emitted a vibrant red plume. Polk has researched lithium-fed MPD thrusters for decades, having worked on NASA’s Dawn mission and the agency’s Deep Space 1, the first demonstration of electric propulsion beyond Earth orbit.

The team aims to reach power levels between 500 kilowatts and 1 megawatt per thruster in coming years. Because the hardware operates at such high temperatures, proving the components can withstand the heat over many hours of testing will be a key challenge. A human mission to Mars might need 2 to 4 megawatts of power, requiring multiple MPD thrusters, which would have to operate for more than 23,000 hours.

Lithium-fed MPD thrusters have the potential to operate at high power levels, use propellant efficiently, and provide significantly greater thrust than currently flying electric thrusters. Fully developed and paired with a nuclear power source, they could reduce launch mass and support payloads required for human Mars missions.

The MPD thruster work, in development for the past 2½ years, is led by JPL in collaboration with Princeton University in New Jersey and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. It is funded by NASA’s Space Nuclear Propulsion project, which in 2020 began supporting a megawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion program for human Mars missions by focusing on five critical technology elements, of which the electric propulsion subsystem is one. The project, based at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is part of the NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

To learn about NASA’s nuclear efforts, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/ignition/

Media Contact

Melissa Pamer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-314-4928
melissa.pamer@jpl.nasa.gov

2026-026

Millions of people watched the historic launch of Artemis II and were captivated by the mission’s 10-day journey around the Moon as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen ventured farther into space than any human before. Part of the public’s ability to experience the mission in high-definition was due to laser communications.

Laser, or optical, communications systems use invisible infrared light to transmit more data in a single downlink than traditional radio frequency systems. During Artemis II, NASA tested an optical communications system to demonstrate the benefits laser communications can bring to future human spaceflight missions to the Moon.

The optical terminal, a payload attached to the Orion spacecraft’s exterior, marked the first time laser communications supported a crewed mission at lunar distance. The terminal collected and transmitted high-definition video, flight procedures, photos, engineering and science data, and voice communications to Earth over laser signals when the spacecraft had line of sight with ground terminals.

“Access to high-resolution imagery and other scientific data during dynamic science mission phases is a game changer,” said Dr. Kelsey Young, Artemis II lunar science lead. “It means faster insights, better science decision-making to support the crew as they’re completing science exploration, and a mission with a more integrated science presence. It felt like we were right there with the crew, and it maximized the lunar science impact of the mission as it allowed for a more productive crew science conference the morning after the flyby.”

During the about 10-day journey, the laser communications system exchanged 484 gigabytes of data between Orion and Earth, roughly equivalent to 100 high-definition movies compared to the capacity of standard radio frequency systems. The crisp, clear photos of Earthset, Earthrise, and many of the other mission images were downlinked over the Orion Artemis II optical communication system’s laser links. The terminal also was able to transmit data to the Orion capsule, delivering information to the crew.

Artemis II’s primary communications support came from the Near Space Network and Deep Space Network, NASA’s traditional radio frequency systems. At lunar distances, with the current processing structure, these systems were limited to single-digit data rates in the megabits per second range. When the optical system was in use, the Orion crew module established multiple 260 megabits per second downlinks, surpassing many of its demonstration goals.

On Earth, NASA ground station telescopes at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and White Sands Complex in New Mexico were selected for their high-altitude, dry environments to ensure a strong link between Earth and the optical terminal aboard Orion. These stations collected the bulk of Orion’s optical signals, hitting a record of 26 gigabytes of data received, downloaded, and transmitted to mission control in under an hour – enabling faster data transfer than most home internet capabilities.

In addition to NASA’s two main ground stations, Orion also downlinked data to a newly developed site at the Australian National University Quantum Optical Ground Station at Mount Stromlo in Canberra, Australia. After several years of technical support, subject matter experts from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, worked with the university to build and demonstrate a lunar-capable optical telescope leveraging affordable parts developed by commercial industry.

Throughout the mission, the Australian site achieved dual-stream video with Orion for more than 15.5 hours, contributing to a live streaming view from Orion, which enabled millions of viewers to follow the mission. The ground station successfully downlinked the terminal’s highest possible data rate of 260 megabits per second, proving that commercial, off-the-shelf parts can be leveraged to decrease the cost, time, and difficulty required to assemble optical ground stations. 

Throughout the mission, the Australian site achieved dual-stream video with Orion for more than 15.5 hours, contributing to NASA’s “Live Views from Orion” feed, which enabled millions of viewers to follow Artemis II milestones. The ground station successfully downlinked the terminal’s highest possible data rate of 260 megabits per seconds, proving that commercial, off-the-shelf parts can be leveraged to decrease the cost, time, and difficulty required to assemble optical ground stations. 

“Space communications isn’t just about moving bytes, it’s about delivering the images, the video, and the voices of the crew that bring a mission to life,” said Greg Heckler, SCaN’s deputy program manager for capability development. “With the optical payload, we were able to watch astronauts embark on their journey in near real-time. Those moments gave us a breathtaking new view of Earth and revealed the crew isn’t just a team, but a family.”

As NASA pushes the boundaries of human exploration, the successful use of laser communications demonstrated faster data transfer, offering a glimpse into options for future agency missions.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery and economic benefits, building the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about the Artemis II mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii

Description

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its right navigation camera — one of two on the rover’s mast, or head — to capture the images in this timelapse, which spans six years of driving. The images were snapped between Jan. 2, 2020, and March 8, 2026 (the 2,633rd and 4,830th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, respectively). The images were taken when the mast was looking behind the rover to help the science team choose rocks to study.

Curiosity’s team is using this timelapse to watch for sand grains shifting on the rover’s deck. Distinguishing between sand jostled by each drive and wind gusts can provide new information about seasonal changes in the atmosphere.

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

To learn more about Curiosity, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity

Astronauts Chris Williams of NASA and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency work together in the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox, processing genetic-material samples for the DNA Nano Therapeutics‑3 experiment. The investigation is exploring DNA‑inspired assembly techniques as a way to manufacture treatments—such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy—that can kill cancer cells and activate the immune system.

Find out what’s happening on the International Space Station on the blog.

Image credit: NASA/Jessica Meir

The bright whites of mountain snow, muted browns of the arid plains, and gem-like blues and teals of glacial lakes typically dominate the Patagonian color palette. But for a short time in the austral autumn, temperate deciduous forests add splashes of warm tones. On April 12, 2026, a break in the clouds allowed the Landsat 9 satellite to capture an image of reddish hillsides in the Magallanes region of southern Chile.

Patagonia contains the southernmost temperate forests in the world, home to many species found nowhere else on the planet. Among these are several types of southern beech tree (genus Nothofagus) that form the foundations of Andean forests. These highly adaptable trees can thrive in a range of climates, tolerating freezing temperatures and almost desert-like levels of rainfall.

The deciduous varieties put on a show in the fall, their leaves displaying yellows and reds when shorter, colder days set in. One of these species, known as the lenga beech (Nothofagus pumilio), occurs from about 36 degrees south latitude down to Tierra del Fuego at around 55 degrees south. Its range stretches about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) along the spine of the continent and includes the area shown in this image.

Where lenga beeches grow, they tend to be the predominant or only type of tree in the forest, researchers note. As a subalpine-loving species, their presence often marks the highest elevation that trees will grow in an area. In the warmer, northern part of their range, they occur at higher elevations—around 1,700 meters (5,600 feet). In cooler, southern climes, they populate lower areas; the red ridgetops in the scene above, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Punta Arenas, are at about 600 meters (2,000 feet) above sea level.

Colorful autumn displays of lenga and other southern beech forests dazzle leaf-peepers across Patagonia’s iconic locales. In Conguillío National Park, reds and yellows appear amid the clear lakes and volcanic peaks. And in Torres del Paine and Tierra del Fuego, trees such as Nothofagus antarctica, better known as ñire or “Antarctic fire,” lend touches of blazing color to the landscape.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

References & Resources

• Amigo, J., and Rodríguez Guitián, M. (2011) Bioclimatic and phytosociological diagnosis of the species of the Nothofagus genus (Nothofagaceae) in South America. International Journal of Geobotanical Research, 1, 1-20.
• Mattera, M.G., et al. (2020) Genetic diversity and population structure in Nothofagus pumilio, a foundation species of Patagonian forests: defining priority conservation areas and management. Scientific Reports, 10, 19231.
• ScienceDirect, Nothofagus. Accessed April 27, 2026.
• Steed-Mundin, O. (2024) The Southern Beeches: an introduction to the genus Nothofagus Blume. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 41(4), 439–456.

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