Skip to main content

This tiny satellite will use a solar sail to investigate an asteroid

NEA Scout with the solar sail deployed as it flies by its asteroid destination.
Illustration showing NEA Scout with the solar sail deployed as it flies by its asteroid destination. NASA

Following the success in 2019 of Bill Nye and the Planetary Society’s solar sail craft LightSail 2, NASA plans to launch its own solar sail project to investigate near-Earth asteroids.

The Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout) is a small satellite around the size of a shoebox that will sail through space powered by sunlight. The hardware will consist of a stainless steel boom structure across which a thin, aluminum-coated plastic sail will be stretched. The total area covered by the sail is around that of a racquetball court, and as photons from the sun bounce off the shiny surface, they will propel the craft forward.

Recommended Videos

As wacky as this idea sounds — it was made famous by, among others, science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke — it has been shown to work in low-Earth orbit by the LightSail project. Now NASA will take this one step further by deploying a solar sail in deep space.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“NEA Scout will be America’s first interplanetary mission using solar sail propulsion,” said Les Johnson, principal technology investigator for the mission at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “There have been several sail tests in Earth orbit, and we are now ready to show we can use this new type of spacecraft propulsion to go new places and perform important science.”

The big advantage of this method of propulsion is that the craft does not need to carry fuel, making it a very efficient way to send small masses long distances.

“This type of propulsion is especially useful for small, lightweight spacecraft that cannot carry large amounts of conventional rocket propellant,” Johnson said.

NEA Scout spacecraft in Gravity Off-load Fixture, System Test configuration at NASA Marshall.
NEA Scout spacecraft in Gravity Off-load Fixture, System Test configuration at NASA Marshall. NASA

NEA Scout will catch a ride on NASA’s planned Artemis I mission around the moon, being deployed along with several other small CubeSats. Once it is released, the craft will use its solar sail to travel to a near-Earth asteroid to take high-resolution pictures of the asteroid up close.

“The images gathered by NEA Scout will provide critical information on the asteroid’s physical properties such as orbit, shape, volume, rotation, the dust and debris field surrounding it, plus its surface properties,” said Julie Castillo-Rogez, the mission’s principal science investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Learning about small asteroids, such as those less than 100 meters across, is important because asteroids of this size can be potentially dangerous to Earth. Somewhat counterintuitively, very large asteroids are considered less of a threat, as they are relatively easy to spot when they come close to Earth. But smaller asteroids are harder to identify.

“Despite their size, some of these small asteroids could pose a threat to Earth,” said Dr. Jim Stott, NEA Scout technology project manager. “Understanding their properties could help us develop strategies for reducing the potential damage caused in the event of an impact.”

The NEA Scout is scheduled to launch on the Artemis I mission in November 2021.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
Two asteroids whipped past Earth last week, and researchers snapped images
The Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, made these observations of the recently discovered 500-foot-wide (150-meter-wide) asteroid 2024 MK, which made its closest approach — within about 184,000 miles (295,000 kilometers) of Earth — on June 29.

The Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, made these observations of the recently discovered 500-foot-wide (150-meter-wide) asteroid 2024 MK, which made its closest approach — within about 184,000 miles (295,000 kilometers) of Earth — on June 29. NASA/JPL-Caltech

The last week saw not one but two asteroids whip by Earth at close distances -- not so close as to threaten the planet, but close enough for scientists to get a good view of them. Asteroid hunters tracked the pair as they passed by, and they were even imaged by NASA instruments to learn more about asteroids, including those that could potentially threaten Earth in the future.

Read more
What happened when NASA simulated an asteroid hitting Earth
An artist's impression of an asteroid approaching Earth

An artist's impression of an asteroid approaching Earth NASA

What would happen if a huge asteroid were headed toward Earth? Though this might be the topic of innumerable Hollywood movies, it's also a real concern for space agencies like NASA and its Planetary Defense Coordination Office. This is the department responsible for organizing NASA's response to a potentially deadly threat from the skies, and earlier this year it ran the world's most dramatic role-play, simulating what would happen if a dangerous asteroid were spotted on a collision course with the planet.

Read more
Auroras and radiation from solar storms spotted on Mars
The specks in this scene were caused by charged particles from a solar storm hitting a camera aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Curiosity uses its navigation cameras to try and capture images of dust devils and wind gusts, like the one seen here.

The specks in this scene were caused by charged particles from a solar storm hitting a camera aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Curiosity uses its navigation cameras to try and capture images of dust devils and wind gusts, like the one seen here. NASA/JPL-Caltech

The recent solar storms caused epic events here on Earth, where auroras were visible across much of the globe last month. These storms, caused by heightened activity from the sun, don't only affect our planet though -- they also affect Mars. NASA missions like the Curiosity rover have been observing the effects of solar storms there, where the very thin atmosphere creates a potentially dangerous radiation environment. If we ever want to send people to visit the red planet, we're going to need to learn more about this radiation and how it's affected by events like solar storms.

Read more