New space plasma propulsion activities in ENEA C.R. Frascati

ENEA C.R. Frascati is a public research institute with expertise in plasma modeling and nuclear technologies, leading the national activities in nuclear fusion research within the EUROfusion consortium. Recently, a new research team called SP2ICE (Space Plasma Propulsion for Interplanetary and Cislunar Exploration) focused on space plasma propulsion technologies has been established in C.R. Frascati. The aim of this new team is to apply the plasma physics knowledge developed in nuclear fusion research on plasma propulsion technology development. The research is focused on nuclear propulsion systems based on plasmas and on electrodeless electric propulsion based on RF technologies. The main project is the development of a helicon thruster for cislunar cargo missions (project HeELICARGO in collaboration with ASI). A new experimental facility called PHOENIX is under construction in C.R. Frascati. This facility is designed for studying RF plasma generation with helicon wavess. The team has collaborations with universities (La Sapienza, Politecnico di Torino), research insstitutes (CNR-ISTP, CNR-ISC) and with ASI. The main ongoing activities are briefly presented hereafter.