A step to Mars: Atomistic view of spacecraft propulsion plasma-material interactions

Tran, Huy

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132932 Copy

Description

Title

A step to Mars: Atomistic view of spacecraft propulsion plasma-material interactions

Author(s)

Tran, Huy

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

Artemis I, the most recent NASA mission to Moon, has tested the capability of the Hall Thruster - a high-power electric propulsion (EP) where the ions are accelerated to high speed and thus generate thrust as a reaction force. However, these ions also interact with the spacecraft’s surfaces and the test facility, typically made of graphite, making testing, performance, and lifetime assessment of an EP engine enormously challenging. Therefore, it is critical to understand and predict how these exhausted ions interact with graphite, which happens at a tiny atomic view but has enormous impacts on the huge spacecraft. This picture shows the atomistic view of the Hall Thruster’s plume bombarding graphite at various spacecraft and facility locations. From our view, we only see the beautiful glowing blue color due to the ionized Xenon. However, this blue light consists of multiple Xenon ions (shown as red balls) traveling at hypersonic velocity, with different trajectories. As Xenon impacts graphite (grey), it disrupts the material lattices, knocking off the carbon atoms.This atomistic simulation will help to create a digital twinning of the surface’s erosion, helping to advance EP as a viable technology for NASA’s plan to bring humans to Mars by 2040.

Type of Resource

• Text
• Image

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132932

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 Huy Tran

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