by moving a plane cover plate on a guide rail. The plasma source is not located in the vacuum tank but flanged on a conical part of the plate. The cone-shaped element of the end plate enables the plasma source to be fixed at that point. The whole plasma jet range is accessible by optical methods. The facility is equipped with a 4-axis positioning system on which the different probes and the specimen support system can be mounted. This allows the simulation of parts of the reentry trajectories by automatically moving the specimen in different plasma flow regimes. A certain point on a reentry trajectory is defined by the ambient pressure, the axial distance to the generator, the arc current, and the mass flow. Together, these values resultof the test gas is fed in along the cathode into the plenum chamber, heated up by the arc, and accelerated partly by thermal expansion and partly by electromagnetic forces due to the self-induced magnetic field in the nozzle. The magnitude of the magnetic acceleration force strongly depends on the current level of operation. With this MPG, the oxygen needed for the duplication of high enthalpy air flows is fed in radially at a high velocity at the supersonic part of the nozzle but still within the arc region. The various gas injection points enable the operation of the MPG with different gas mixtures. So the investigation of entry maneuvers into the atmospheres of other celestial bodies such as Titan and Mars, containing CH4 and CO2, is possible