Launched: Space yacht that will sail on 'solar waves' to Venus

Launched: Space yacht that will sail on 'solar waves' to Venus

Japan launched a 'space yacht' today that will travel to Venus propelled only by sunlight.

A rocket carrying the experimental 'Ikaros' blasted off for its six-month mission from a space centre in Kagoshima, southern Japan.
The spacecraft will head towards Venus powered only by solar particles bouncing off its kite-shaped sails.

Once in space the short cylindrical pod will separate from the rocket spinning up to 20 times a minute. This will help it to unfold its flexible 46ft sail, which is thinner than a human hair.
The square shaped sail is equipped with thin-film solar cells and will use resistance created by the Sun's energy in much the same way as wind propels a yacht through water. This will provide it with enough thrust to hover and rotate.
'It is a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure', Japanese Space Agency expert Yuichi Tsuda said.

'Solar sails are the technology that realises space travel without fuel as long as we have sunlight.

'The availability of electricity would enable us to navigate farther and more effectively in the solar system.'
Scientists will steer the craft by changing the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the silver-coloured sail.

During a six-month mission they will head towards our sister planet Venus. If this is a success Jaxa are planning further missions to the red giant Jupiter and Trojan using sails more than twice as the size of Ikaros.

Ikaros will harness the power of the Sun using a 46ft sail that is thinner than a human hair

The £35million Ikaros will be the first use of such technology in deep space. Past experiments have limited crafts to orbits around Earth.
A Jaxa spokesman said: 'This will be the world's first solar powered sail craft employing both photon propulsion and thin film power generation during its interplanetary cruise.'

It's name is an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew too close to the Sun and fell into the sea.

'Unlike the mythical Icarus, this Ikaros will not crash,' Mr Tsuda said.
The space yacht will unfurl its solar sail several weeks after launch before heading to Venus

The rocket's payload also includes the Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter, a box-shaped golden satellite, fitted with two paddle-shaped solar panels, that is set to arrive at Venus in about six months.

Venus is similar in size and age to Earth but has a far more hostile climate, with temperatures around 460C and large amounts of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas on Earth.

Scientists believe a probe of the climate of Venus will help them deepen their understanding of the formation of the Earth's environment and its future.
The space yacht's sail will be deployed and kept flat by its spinning motion
The probe - nicknamed Akatsuki, which means 'Dawn' in Japanese - will work closely with the European Space Agency's Venus Express.

Fitted with five cameras, its mission is to peer through the planet's thick layer of sulphuric acid clouds to monitor the meteorology of Venus, search for possible lightning, and scan its crust for active volcanoes.
It will observe the planet in an elliptical orbit, from a distance of between 200 to 50,000 miles.
Japan has become a major player in the space industry in recent years. In 2008 they installed a £1billion laboratory on board the International Space Station.

The space agency has proposed that the Japanese government send a wheeled robot to the moon in five years and build the world's first lunar base by 2020.

Under the plan, the robot's tasks would include setting up an observation device, gathering geological samples and sending data back to Earth. The robot would also set up solar panels to generate energy.

This would cost Japan around £1billion over the next 10 years.