Sailing Through Space
August 2, 2019
A small spacecraft sporting expandable sails is now orbiting Earth, powered by photons from the sun and guided by controllers on the ground—and possibly foretelling a new way to propel future probes through the solar system. Run by the nonprofit Planetary Society and financed by 40,000 donations, the mission marks yet again the emerging global trend, documented recently in Issues, of private organizations undertaking space activities once dominated by government, and doing so with remarkable innovation and at lower cost.