Apparatus, systems and methods for establishing plasma and using plasma in a rotating magnetic field

A plasma propulsion system, comprising:

• a first plurality of magnetic field coils configured to receive a first oscillating current that produces a first transverse magnetic field with respect to a system axis of the plasma propulsion system;
• a second plurality of magnetic field coils oriented orthogonally to the first plurality of magnetic field coils, and configured to receive a second oscillating current that produces a second transverse magnetic field, wherein the second oscillating current is out of phase with the first oscillating current;
• a plurality of magnetic elements oriented along the system axis that produce another magnetic field aligned with the system axis;
• a plasma containment portion defining an interior region, wherein the interior region of the plasma containment portion is configured to accommodate a plasma that is established by a rotating magnetic field component that is cooperatively established by the first oscillating current flowing through the first plurality of magnetic field coils and the second oscillating current flowing through the second plurality of magnetic field coils;
• and
• a manifold having a plurality of outlets along the plasma containment portion that introduces neutral gas particles into the interior region of the plasma containment portion,
• wherein the neutral gas particles undergo charge exchange collisions with particles of the plasma thereby increasing a number of particles magnetically accelerated per ionizing collision thereby reducing totally system energy loss to ionization, and
• wherein the plasma is accelerated out of the plasma containment portion by magnetic forces generated by the plurality of magnetic elements to generate a propulsion force.