Review and Prospect of Ion Thruster Life Tests

Based on a full-scale investigation of the ground life tests of ion thrusters with high readiness level at home and abroad,the purpose,method,result,and application of four types of life tests are summarized,including wear test,en-gineering life test,failure-ended life test and comprehensive evaluation life test.Through comparative analysis of different test methods,test-verified life and service life,and different failure modes with their verifications,the successful and failed experience of these life tests are summarized.Considering the problems in existing life tests and the new requirements for life test in future space missions,the development of life test technology for ion thruster is prospected.