NASA’s Lithium‑Plasma Thruster Hits 120 kW Record, Advancing Toward Megawatt Mars Propulsion

Electric propulsion uses electricity to accelerate ionized gas, producing thrust with far less fuel than chemical rockets. NASA’s latest system burns lithium metal vapor to create plasma, enabling continuous, efficient acceleration over months or years. The technology is being matured for crewed missions to Mars, where high power and long runtimes are essential.

The thruster reached a record 120 kilowatts of power during testing at a NASA facility in the United States. James Polk of NASA JPL called the test a huge moment, saying it verified the thruster works, hit targeted power levels, and provides a testbed for scaling up. NASA estimates a future human Mars mission will need 2 to 4 megawatts of power from multiple thrusters, operating continuously for about 23,000 hours, roughly 2.6 years.

Achieving 120 kW demonstrates the core technology can handle the power levels required for a single thruster unit. Scaling to the 2‑4 MW range will involve clustering many units and ensuring they withstand extreme temperatures above 2,800 °C. Success would cut propellant mass by up to 90 % compared with chemical systems, allowing larger payloads or faster transit times.