Episode 24 Solar Sails: Sign Us Up to be Space Sailors! - BIIRS Season 2

But it is Rocket Science

Did you know solar sails are different than solar panels? They're these large sheets, thinner than your hair, that can propel spacecraft! How do they work? What missions have used them? Tune in to learn about the amazing engineering behind solar sails! Anna made a TikTok: @AnnaisAnxious Music from filmmusic.io "Tyrant" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Henna's Sources: “A Brief History of Solar Sails.” NASA, NASA, science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/31jul_solarsails. Etherington, Darrell. “Crowdfunded LightSail 2 Spacecraft Succeeds in Flying on Sunlight Alone.” TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 31 July 2019, techcrunch.com/2019/07/31/crowdfunded-lightsail-2-spacecraft-succeeds-in-flying-on-sunlight-alone/. “In Depth.” NASA, NASA, 24 July 2019, solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/mariner-10/in-depth/. Johnson, Les, et al. “Status of Solar Sail Technology Within NASA.” NASA Technical Reports Server, 20 July 2010, ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20100039163. Johnson, Les, et al. “NanoSail-D: A Solar Sail Demonstration Mission.” Acta Astronautica, vol. 68, no. 5-6, 2011, pp. 571–575., doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2010.02.008. “LightSail.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Sept. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightSail. “Mars Orbiter Mission.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Orbiter_Mission. “Project Echo.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 July 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Echo. Tsuda, Y., et al. “Flight Status of IKAROS Deep Space Solar Sail Demonstrator.” Acta Astronautica, vol. 69, no. 9-10, 2011, pp. 833–840., doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.06.005. “What Is Solar Sailing?” The Planetary Society, www.planetary.org/articles/what-is-solar-sailing. Anna's Sources: Breakthrough Initiatives, breakthroughinitiatives.org/about. “Breakthrough Starshot.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot. “Dooku's Solar Sailer.” Wookieepedia, starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dooku's_solar_sailer. Johnson, L., McKenzie, D., & Newmark, J. (2020). The Solar Cruiser Mission Concept — Enabling New Vistas for Heliophysics. Bulletin of the AAS, 52(3). Retrieved from https://baas.aas.org/pub/aas236-106p08-johnson Libretexts. “29.4: Photon Momentum.” Physics LibreTexts, Libretexts, 10 Sept. 2020, phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/College_Physics/Book:_College_Physics_(OpenStax)/29:_Introduction_to_Quantum_Physics/29.04:_Photon_Momentum. Mann, Adam. “What Is a Solar Sail?” Space.com, Space, 3 July 2019, www.space.com/solar-sail.html. Marshall Space Flight Center. “Solar Sail Propulsion.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 25 Apr. 2005, www.nasa.gov/pdf/134645main_solar_sail_fs.pdf. McAlpine, Jennifer. “How Big Is a Micron?” Benchmark_R_1CWhite, www.bench.com/setting-the-benchmark/how-big-is-a-micron. “NASA Heliophysics.” NASA, NASA, science.nasa.gov/heliophysics. Patel, Prachi. “Solar Sail Spacecraft Could Explore Beyond Solar System.” Space.com, Space, 2 Sept. 2010, www.space.com/9051-solar-sail-spacecraft-explore-solar-system.html. “Photoelectric Effect.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoelectric_effect. “Photon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon. The Planetary Society. “How Do Solar Sails Work? Bill Nye Explains.” Youtube, 2 Aug. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORQNgKnKVvM. “Quantum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum. “Sailing Basics: 10 Nautical & Sailing Terms To Know.” Discover Boating, www.discoverboating.com/resources/sailing-basics-10-nautical-sailing-terms-to-know. “What Is Solar Sailing?” The Planetary Society, www.planetary.org/articles/what-is-solar-sailing.