51�Թ�

The long voyage of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury may get longer because of a drop in power supplied to its ion propulsion system.

The spacecraft’s ion propulsion system brakes and accelerates the spacecraft for these complex maneuvers.

The rest of the way, Psyche will rely on ion propulsion – the gentle pressure of ionized xenon gas jetting out of a nozzle provides a continuous, reliable and low-cost way to propel spacecraft out into the solar system.

Another idea is electric ion propulsion.

Ion propulsion is already being used to power satellites in space.