How Do Ion Engines Work? The Most Efficient Propulsion System Out There

Chemical Rockets vs Ion Propulsion Engines for Space Vehicles

In past Posts I have touched on the actual fact that the Dawn Space Mission to Asteroid Vesta and Dwarf Planet Ceres included 3-ION engines...

"Ion thrusters are being designed for a wide variety of missions—from keeping communications satellites in the proper position (station-keeping) to propelling spacecraft throughout our solar system. These thrusters have high specific impulses—ratio of thrust to the rate of propellant consumption, so they require significantly less propellant for a given mission than would be needed with chemical propulsion. Ion propulsion is even considered to be mission enabling for some cases where sufficient chemical propellant cannot be carried on the spacecraft to accomplish the desired mission." NASA

We are off and running, but how do these Ion Engines work? How efficient are these Ion Engines... Take a Space break and Watch full screen, sound up for an amazing short video on these New Ion Engines...