This week, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Akatsuki craft to study conditions on the planet Venus. This particular mission will include a solar sail, which uses particles from the sun to propel the craft.
The solar sail technology has been cited as one potential way that space exploration missions decades from now can get around the problem of having to transport heavy fuel out of earth's orbit. According to the JAXA website, the solar sail gets electricity from thin film cells on its membrane while also receiving acceleration from solar radiation.
This technology may still be in its development stages, but other space-related solar applications may find widespread use in the coming years.
For example, researchers are also working on technology that would gather energy from orbiting solar panels and then beam it back down to earth. One company, Solaren, made news last year with a deal where Pacific Gas & Electric would start buying power generated by orbiting arrays in 2016.
