Célian Boye, member of the ZARATHUSTRA team, is currently at the ICARE Laboratory of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique for a 3-month research stay. A main focus of his stay is the experimental testing of the third prototype of the Magnetic Arch Thruster 3 (MAT3) cluster.

As the previous prototype, this cluster consists of two Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) sources joined by a closed-line topology magnetic field. After completing a pre-characterisation campaign with a set of probes (Faraday cup, Retarding Potential Analyzer and Lagnmuir Probe), the current study focuses on the velocity of ions within the MAT3 cluster’s plasma expansion using near-infrared 2D Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy.

Stay tuned for the presentation of this work during the 38th International Electric Propulsion Conference, that will take place from 23 to 28 June 2024 in Toulouse, France!