Liquid-metal-ion source development for space propulsion at ARC.

The Austrian Research Centers have a long history of developing indium Liquid-Metal-Ion Source (LMIS) for space applications including spacecraft charging compensators, SIMS and propulsion. Specifically the application as a thruster requires long-term operation as well as high-current operation which is very challenging. Recently, we demonstrated the operation of a cluster of single LMIS at an average current of 100muA each for more than 4800h and developed models for tip erosion and droplet deposition suggesting that such a LMIS can operate up to 20,000h or more.