Space has a trash problem, with defunct satellites, rockets, and smaller broken bits orbiting Earth at high speeds. The amount of space junk is only increasing, raising the risk of collision with ...

The big picture: In deep-space travel, the race is no longer about who has the biggest rocket – it's about who can build the smartest plasma engine. As the competition to reach Mars intensifies, ...

A laboratory in Troitsk, Russia, may have just nudged humanity closer to interplanetary commuting. Scientists at Rosatom, the country's state nuclear corporation, have revealed a working prototype of ...

Russia is quietly testing a new plasma propulsion system that, if it performs as claimed, could dramatically change how long it takes to travel to Mars. Early results suggest a leap in speed and ...

Something to look forward to: Scientists have created a laboratory prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine that could revolutionize space travel. Based on a magnetic plasma accelerator, this ...

Being more efficient and more powerful than chemical rockets, plasma engines are seen as the future of human spaceflight. While NASA-backed plasma rocket projects aim for travel times to Mars be just ...

Space exploration has long been a dream of humanity, but a new development out of Russia could change the future of interplanetary travel forever. Scientists are developing a groundbreaking plasma ...

Over 14,000 pieces of junk are clogging up low Earth orbit, but this number could be reduced by a new invention that involves a satellite using the plasma exhaust of its ion engine to knock dangerous ...