NASA has announced a new vision for going into space using solar energy as energy.
The Solar Sailing Project has received $2 million in research and development funding.
Sunlight exerts energy on people and things.
On Earth, this is unnoticeable – but in the vacuum of space, beams of light can propel even large objects forward.
Successful design of solar boats will eliminate the need for expensive fuel and propulsion technologies in space travel.
“As we are more out of the universe than ever before, we will need innovative, cutting-edge technologies to carry out our missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. He said.
Solar sails operate like kites in the air – but imagine a spacecraft instead of a kite, powered by the sun rather than the wind.
“Every photon is accelerated a little bit, but the sun is emitting billions and billions every second,” said Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society and Beloved Scientist. explain.
“If we had a spacecraft that was light and big enough and had enough reflection, the photons would push it up a little bit.”
However, this momentum goes in one direction – the scientists are working on tapping the board of the boat so that the force can spread out and move the ship in three dimensions.
“The refracting solar sail is an update to the vision of light sailors for decades,” said one of the researchers close to the project.
In fact, solar sailing is an old idea of reaching new heights.
a NBC News The story refers to correspondence between the famous scientists Johannes Kepler and Galileo.
In 1608 Kepler wrote to Galileo, “Provide ships or sails to suit the winds of heaven, and some will brave that void.”
Previous attempts to put light sails into space were met with disappointing results – a prototype rocket exploded before leaving Earth and landed on another boat. smash Except in the atmosphere.
NASA hopes the new $2 million in funding will push the solar sail from theory to reality.
This story first appeared the sun Reprinted here with further permission.