NASA solar sail test with Rocket Lab
by Canyon Owen: NASA
Propelling a craft with nothing but particles streaming off the Sun is the whole idea behind the sail NASA is evaluating, and the photons bouncing off it do the pushing, no fuel tank involved. Picture a boat, except the wind is sunlight. The thing went up on a Rocket Lab rocket, and the test is basically a new way to steer through our solar system using that push. NASA calls it a milestone for the tech. Down the line, sails like this could cut a Mars trip to as little as 26 days.
Transcript (en)
This spacecraft can reach Mars within 26 days. This is a solar sail, a spacecraft propelled through space by harnessing the momentum of photons emitted by the Sun. When these photons strike the sail, they impart energy, propelling the spacecraft forward. A solar sail works the same as a boat, but instead of wind hitting the sail, the solar particles hit the sail. NASA successfully reached a milestone in developing a solar sail, and it was launched by using Rocket Lab's rocket. This spacecraft will test a new way of navigating our solar system by using the propulsive power of sunlight.
