Solar sails could reach Mars in just 26 days (phys.org)

submitted 1 year ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/space@beehaw.org

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 29 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

While a promising line of research it should be noted that 26 day headline only applies to rapid delivery of small payloads (sub-kilogram) throughout the solar system.

Quote:

For the study, the researchers conducted simulations on how fast a solar sail made of aerographite with a mass up to 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), including 720 grams of aerographite with a cross-sectional area of 104 square meters, could reach Mars

So, this is more about sending micro-satellites to the outer planets than it is about sending human or cargo missions..

[-] Spzi@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

Also

The researchers note that one major question of using solar sails is deceleration, or slowing down, upon arriving at the destination, specifically Mars, and while they mention aerocapture as one solution, they admit this still requires further study.

[-] IndefiniteBen@leminal.space 6 points 1 year ago

Sounds like it's probably best to work out all these issues with small payloads before scaling up to human transport.

[-] Fermion@feddit.nl 8 points 1 year ago

It can't really be scaled up to human carrying capacity. The density of solar wind is very sparce. Any sail large enough to accelerate a human habitat would itself become too heavy.