It took NASA’s Voyager I probe 35 years to reach the edge of our solar system and enter interstellar space. But a lot has changed in space technology since Voyager launched in 1977. NASA’s new space sail—propelled only by the sun—can make that same trip in 20 years.
On Tuesday (Feb. 2), NASA announced that the Space Launch System—the rocket that replaced the space shuttle and will eventually send humans to Mars—will carry 13 small satellites (called CubeSats) on its inaugural flight in 2018. One of those satellites is the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout, a space vessel that runs on light.
NEA Scout, whose solar technology some believe to be the future of space travel, is detailed in an excellent profile in National Geographic. The satellite’s initial destination is asteroid 1991 VG. It’ll do some recon on the asteroid’s size, movement, and composition, so that NASA is better prepared when the time comes to send humans there (or to similar asteroids).
It's still far too slow for practical human travel in the deep solar system. It also useless for interstellar travel. To read more, click here.