A Global Analysis of Ion Thruster Plume Interactions for Interplanetary Spacecraft

A global analysis of ion thruster plume interactions for interplanetary spacecraft is developed based on fully 3-dimensional electrostatic PIC-MCC simulations of the near-field region and 2|-dimensional electromagnetic hybrid PIC simulations of the far-field region. We show that while the charge exchange ion interaction dominates in the vicinity of the spacecraft, the presence of the solar wind will induce kinetic couplings between the plume and the solar wind in the far-field via electromagnetic plasma instabilities. The instabilities can generate enhanced magnetic field fluctuations leading to wave-particle scatterings of both the beam ions and the charge-exchange ions.