"Low Thrust, High Impact: Electric Propulsion and the Future of Spaceflight"

Abstract: Five years before the Apollo moon mission, electric propulsion traded the explosive power of conventional rockets for patience, using electric fields to produce gentle but continuous thrust for a spacecraft. This talk explores how low-thrust electric engines—such as Hall thrusters and electrospray thrusters—are reshaping the way we design and fly space missions. We’ll see why efficiency matters more than raw force in the vacuum of space, how months of steady acceleration can drastically outperform brief chemical combustion, and what this means for satellite operations, deep-space exploration, and future space infrastructure. From orbit raising and station keeping to asteroid missions and interplanetary travel, electric propulsion is enabling exciting new capabilities for the rapidly growing space landscape.

Speaker Bio: Jonathan MacArthur is a postdoctoral researcher in the Electric Propulsion and Plasmadynamics Lab (EPPDyL) at Princeton University. He earned his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 2023 and is actively researching high and low power electric propulsion for spacecraft. Dr. MacArthur’s research focuses on experimental and fundamental physics modeling of magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, ion electrospray thrusters, and plasma-material interactions. Prior to joining Princeton University, he held research and engineering roles at NASA and Lockheed Martin and led his own company following awards from the NSF National Innovation Corps and MIT Deshpande Center. Dr. MacArthur has ongoing direct involvement in multiple space missions using advanced solar- and nuclear-powered propulsion systems to expand humanity’s access to the solar system.