A 'space yacht' propelled only by sunlight particles bouncing off its kite-shaped sails is to launch next month.
A rocket carrying the Japanese craft will blast off from Tanegashima Space Center on May 18.
Once in space the short cylindrical pod will separate from the rocket spinning up to 20 times a minute. This will help it to unfold its flexible 46ft sail, which is thinner than a human hair.
Ikaros will harness the power of the Sun using a 46ft sail that is thinner than a human hair
The square shaped sail is equipped with thin-film solar cells and will use resistance created by the Sun's energy in much the same way as wind propels a yacht through water. This will provide it with enough thrust to hover and rotate.
'It is a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure', Japanese Space Agency expert Yuichi Tsuda said.
'Solar sails are the technology that realises space travel without fuel as long as we have sunlight. The availability of electricity would enable us to navigate farther and more effectively in the solar system.'
Scientists will steer the Ikaros by changing the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the silver-coloured sail.
During a six-month mission they will head towards our sister planet Venus. If this is a success Jaxa are planning further missions to the red giant Jupiter and Trojan using sails more than twice as the size of the Ikaros.
The space yacht will unfurl its solar sail several weeks after launch before heading to Venus
The £35million Ikaros will be the first use of such technology in deep space. Past experiments have limited crafts to orbits around Earth.
A Jaxa spokesman said: 'This will be the world's first solar powered sail craft employing both photon propulsion and thin film power generation during its interplanetary cruise.'
It's name is an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew too close to the Sun and fell into the sea.
The space yacht's sail will be deployed and kept flat by its spinning motion
'Unlike the mythical Icarus, this Ikaros will not crash,' Mr Tsuda said.
Japan has become a major player in the space industry in recent years. In 2008 they installed a £1billion laboratory on board the International Space Station.
The space agency has proposed that the Japanese government send a wheeled robot to the moon in five years and build the world's first lunar base by 2020.
Under the plan, the robot's tasks would include setting up an observation device, gathering geological samples and sending data back to Earth. The robot would also set up solar panels to generate energy.
This would cost Japan around £1billion over the next 10 years.
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