Sentences with phrase «robotic electric propulsion»

Not exact matches

Sunlight could also drive much larger robotic or crewed spacecraft indirectly via solar electric propulsion, Sheehy says.

The robotic spacecraft would cruise in deep space towards a near - Earth asteroid, using a technology called advanced Solar Electric Propulsion.

NASA is currently developing concepts for the redirect mission that will employ a robotic spacecraft, driven by an advanced solar electric propulsion system, to capture a small near - Earth asteroid or remove a boulder from the surface of a larger asteroid.

Instead of rocketing astronauts off into deep space, the Asteroid Redirect Mission would send a robotic spacecraft to a small asteroid, secure it (potentially by grabbing it and stuffing it into a giant high - tech bag) and tow it back to orbit the moon using a hyper - efficient kind of rocket engine technology called solar electric propulsion.

ARM will demonstrate advanced, high - power, high - throughput solar electric propulsion; advanced autonomous high - speed proximity operations at a low - gravity planetary body; controlled touchdown and liftoff with a multi-ton mass from a low - gravity planetary body, astronaut spacewalk activities for sample selection, extraction, containment and return; and mission operations of integrated robotic and crewed vehicle stack — all key components of future in - space operations for human missions to Mars.

The robotic component of ARM will demonstrate the world's most advanced and most efficient solar electric propulsion system as it travels to a near - Earth asteroid (NEA).