{"id":3839,"date":"2013-08-07T15:27:52","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T15:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3839"},"modified":"2013-08-07T15:52:29","modified_gmt":"2013-08-07T15:52:29","slug":"ares-institute-seeks-to-crowd-fund-a-solar-sail-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3839","title":{"rendered":"Ares Institute seeks to crowd-fund a solar sail project"},"content":{"rendered":"

News from Ares Institute<\/a> of a\u00a0Kickstarter campaign<\/a> to fund a lunar solar sail<\/a>\u00a0:<\/p>\n

For the first time, a solar sail powered spacecraft will orbit another celestial body.<\/b><\/div>\n

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL \u2013 In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Forty-four years later, an enterprising non-profit is building the first privately-owned spacecraft for launch into lunar orbit and using crowdfunding and social media on the internet to enable the public to participate. Named LunarSail, the goal of the project is to give students and the public the opportunity to participate in developing a spacecraft that will not only go into space, but also travel to the Moon while conducting science experiments.<\/p>\n

LunarSail will use what is known as a CubeSat to demonstrate the ability of a spacecraft under solar sail propulsion to navigate itself into a lunar trajectory and insert itself into lunar orbit. It will show the practical application of solar sail technology for propulsion, trajectory\/attitude control and rendezvous with another body in space. This will be a first of its kind mission to use a solar sail to send a spacecraft to the Moon and then utilize the sail\u2019s unique characteristics to navigate into lunar orbit.<\/p>\n