Over the decades dozens of Science Ficiton stories predicted breakthroughs. Ever since Sunjammer by Arthur C. Clarke was published in the mid 1960s my father has been fascinated by the idea of sailing space ships around our solar system.
Early ships on the ocean used the force of the wind to travel across the waters. The idea carries into space as the light from the sun has a gentle push. Over time this pressure may be able to move space ships great distances. One of the great benefits to solar sails is you don't need to carry reaction mass.
It is exciting to see that this idea is still being considered and people are even planning missions to test out the idea. From the NASA Science News:
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Two very special missions are planned for the near future; both aim to deploy a solar sail to harness the power of sunlight. NASA's NanoSail-D is a small solar sail slated for launch as early as August 2008. The Planetary Society's Cosmos 2 does not yet have a specific launch target date. Its goal is to make "a controlled flight under sunlight pressure."
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Maybe some day our children or grandchildren will take a solar clipper to Mars!
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