Laser-Based Measurements of Electron Properties in Hall Effect Thrusters with Non-Conventional Propellants Enabling for Cis-Lunar, Mars, and Deep Space Missions

I propose to apply the Incoherent Thomson Scattering (ITS) laser diagnostic to a Hall effect thruster (HET) to measure electron velocity distribution functions (EVDFs) to improve the predictive modeling of these devices when operating on non-conventional propellants. HETs are the most common in-space propulsion system and are a candidate to be the propulsion element on crewed missions to Mars and beyond. Recent studies have shown that there is an insufficient supply of the propellant these thrusters historically use for NASA missions, xenon, to support long-duration missions. Because of this, alternative propellants, like argon, krypton, or nitrogen, must be considered to make these types of missions possible. The challenge is that, while there is decades of data and simulation on xenon, the fundamental physics of operation are not well understood with these alternative propellants. This is a major hurdle for developing, qualifying, and modeling this technology. This gives rise to a pressing need to develop new diagnostic capabilities to characterize the operation of Hall thrusters on these plasmas. My proposed work is to measure the EVDFs for common propellants in HETs to aid in modeling efforts for these devices. I will then extend these procedures to molecular and metallic propellants, allowing cost-effective recharacterization of these thrusters, to inform on alternative and better propellant options for long-term NEP space missions.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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