Work

Lightsails for Interstellar Travel: Photonics for Propulsion, Thermal Management and Stability

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Lightsails are a highly promising spacecraft concept that has attracted interest in recent years due to its potential to travel at near-relativistic speeds. Such speeds, which current conventional crafts cannot reach, offer tantalizing opportunities to probe nearby stellar systems within a human lifetime. Recent advancements in photonics and metamaterials have created a new paradigm for addressing the monumental challenges facing lightsail missions. This review focuses on the models and analysis underpinning propulsion, thermal management and dynamical stability of lightsails. We emphasize that photonics coupled with inverse design substantially enhances lightsail performance compared to plain reflectors. These developments pave the way through a previously inaccessible frontier of space exploration.

Source: ACS Photonics

DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.5c00450

Authors: Jadon Y. Lin, C. Martijn de Sterke, Ognjen Ilic, Boris T. Kuhlmey

Institutions: The University of Sydney, University of Minnesota

Language: English

Topic: Spacecraft Dynamics and Control

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funders: University of Sydney, Department of Education, Australian Governement, Air Force Office of Scientific Research