What effects would the business end of an ion thruster have on a human body?
The ions from an ion thruster do not have very high energy, but the heat imparted by an ion beam could cause damage to a suit. The maximum power of the ion thruster on Deep Space One was about 2 kilowatts, which could certainly cause problems if concentrated on a small area. The thrust is very low; DS1’s maxed out at around 90 millinewtons. This is roughly 1/3 of an ounce of force. You can only make use of this once you are in space where there are no friction forces and you do not have to push directly against gravity.
