A modern take on the decades-old vision of lightsails. ☀️
A spacecraft gains most of its momentum when it is launched from earth, and then changes direction or increases its speed using chemical rockets that burn fuel that is carried on board.It then maneuvers through space by reaching its maximum speed, or relies on gravity assists from other planets to get to their destinations., the spacecraft can continue accelerating as long as it has light pushing on it.
This would allow the spacecraft to make more efficient use of sunlight without sacrificing maneuverability.“As we venture farther out into the cosmos than ever before, we’ll need innovative, cutting-edge technologies to drive our missions," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson."The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program helps to unlock visionary ideas – like novel solar sails – and bring them closer to reality.
Under the earlier awards, the team had designed, created, and tested different types of diffractive sail materials; conducted experiments; and designed new navigation and control schemes for a potential diffractive lightsail mission orbiting the Sun's poles.
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