ESA is looking at using the world's thinnest known material to build lighter, more efficient solar sails. By making sails out of one-atom-thick graphene sheets, the space agency aims to make sails ...

Tom Whidden is one of those lucky and rare fellows who has successfully carved a career out of a passion. At the tender age of 18, Mr. Whidden decided that he wanted to be a sail maker, an activity ...

Researchers from Tuskegee University, Alabama, have developed a new photonic crystal (a kind of ...

For decades, researchers have explored light sails as an alternative. These devices use radiation pressure—the force exerted when light reflects from a surface—to generate thrust. When driven by a ...

Scientists have successfully tested a material design for light sails using photonic crystals that could achieve 20% the speed of light ...

Most space missions rely on chemical rockets for propulsion. Rockets must carry fuel, which increases spacecraft mass and limits their speed and travel distance. For decades, researchers have explored ...

Read full article: Harris County DA reveals new data on how the justice system handles mental health crises in jails Polk County Jail faces staffing challenges, prompting temporary inmate relocation.

A tiny spacecraft in Earth orbit has successfully deployed its solar sails. Called LightSail 2, the craft will now use the power of the Sun to lift its orbital height even further, in what’s ...