--- title: "NASA Is Launching an Asteroid-Smashing Spacecraft Today and It’s Powered by an Ion Drive" description: "NASA is launching a spacecraft with a highly advanced ion drive, destined to slam into an asteroid as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission." date: "2021-11-23" modified: "2021-11-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-launching-asteroid-smashing-spacecraft" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "asteroids" - "dart" - "ion drives" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA Is Launching an Asteroid-Smashing Spacecraft Today and It’s Powered by an Ion Drive ![NASA is launching a spacecraft with a highly advanced ion drive, destined to slam into an asteroid as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Asteroid Slam NASA is launching a spacecraft destined to slam into an asteroid as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission tonight, from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Its purpose: to test whether we're capable of deflecting a killer asteroid before it strikes Earth. But before it meets its final destination, NASA is using the spacecraft to test out brand new ion drive technology — and it's straight out of a science fiction movie. The space agency's [Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial]() (NEXT-C) uses the spacecraft's solar power to create an electrical field. This field then accelerates a xenon propellant to speeds of up to 90,000 mph, harnessing the resulting stream of "thousands of ion jets" as propulsion. ## Slow But Steady It's not exactly a massive step up in power. The thruster generates a measly 236 micro Newtons of thrust, a tiny fraction of a much larger, fuel-based rocket engine. But NEXT-C is still a [major step up]() in power over previous ion propulsion systems used for other NASA missions. The goal is to demonstrate that tiny spacecraft like DART are capable of propelling themselves on solar energy — and a relatively small amount of xenon fuel — alone by firing thrusters continuously for months or even years at a time. Thanks to the complete lack of resistance, the thruster will be able to slowly accelerate the DART spacecraft [up to 15,000 mph]() before it makes impact with the asteroid. It's an exciting prospect. Ion drives could one day help make deep space exploration a reality, ending our reliance on using up much of a spacecraft's payload for fuel tanks — and deep space probes are the perfect testbed. **READ MORE:** [NASA's asteroid-slamming mission will test new ion drive system]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on DART:** *[Massive Asteroid That Could Obliterate Earth to Fly By, Case the Joint]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()