Portal:Space exploration/Picture/Week 11 2007

Image:Ion_Engine_Test_Firing_-_GPN-2000-000482.jpg

{{center|Credit: NASA}}

An ion thruster (or ion drive), one of several types of spacecraft propulsion, uses beams of ions — electrically charged atoms or molecules— for propulsion. The ion beam is visible in this image as a blue, flame-like exhaust.