Ikaros 'Space Yacht' Sails On Solar Particles

Ikaros 'Space Yacht' Sails On Solar Particles

According to Fox News, Japan will launch a spacecraft called Ikaros (or, Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun) on May 18th on a mission to Venus. The Ikaros propulsion system uses a 46-foot sail to harness the pressure created by solar particles bouncing off the material, similar to the principle of using sails to catch wind.

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