SOLAR SAILS – THE FUTURE OF EXPLORATION OF THE SPACE

Abstract: The research and curiosity about outer space had been always constant in the mankind. Looking for others planets, ways, civilizations wherever the exploration of the space will be a thing which the human desire. The challenge here for several years was the obtaining energy sufficient for the application of the missions. So, currently the major objective in the missions is offer more autonomy to the spacecrafts and consequently to lower the cost of the missions. Solar Sails have long been envisaged as an enabling technology because is a promising low-cost option for space exploration for it uses for propulsion an abundant resource in space: solar radiation. In this paper a mission catalogue is presented of an extensive range of solar sail applications, allowing the knowledge of the key features of missions which use solar sail propulsion