New Engine Raises Possibility of Cheap Travel To the Moon

shreshtha writes with this intriguing bit from The Daily Mail: "A tiny satellite thruster which can journey to the Moon on just a tenth of a litre of fuel could usher in a new low-cost space age, its creators hope. The mini-motor weights just a few hundred grams and runs on an ionic chemical compound, using electricity to expel ions and generate thrust. The tiny motor isn't built to blast satellites into orbit — instead, it's to help spacecraft manouevre once they're in space, which previously required bulky, expensive engines."

Comments

Sweet!

[Lije Baley]

To whom shall I write the check as I securely invest my life savings?

Re:Sweet!

[crutchy]

my car doesn't use fuel either... just material that when ignited in a mixture with oxygen generates an explosion inside a chamber with a piston that imposes a moment in a crankshaft and induces a reaction from the earth against the tire surfaces in such a way as to get me where i need to go with a bit of interaction via an orientation correction device inside the cabin. apparently there are 6 of these miraculous so called "cylinders" in my transportation machine! modern technology is just amazing isn't it?

Wow

[kamapuaa]

Who would have guessed this got posted by Timothy!

Re:Speed

[ColdWetDog]

Anorexic hamsters, possibly. Even Kate Moss weighed more than a kilogram.

(You must be American and unfamiliar with SI units.)

Re:From Where?

[ColdWetDog]

Maybe we can try 'right position and right momentum' with Timothy'. A good swift kick in the kiester would do him some good....