Since launching LightSail 2 in 2019, all of us at The Planetary Society, along with our donors and members, continue to be surprised and enchanted by all things LightSail. Whether it's the stunning photographs of our world taken by LightSail's cameras or the contributions LightSail is making towards the future of solar sailing, LightSail's "flight by light" continues to inspire!
LightSail is now officially in an "extended mission" phase. We recently celebrated by holding an online auction for one-of-a-kind LightSail swag to help raise funds to keep the mission going and also premiered "Sailing The Light", a 35-minute documentary about the game-changing LightSail 2 mission.
We plan to operate LightSail 2 as long as possible in order to learn more about solar sailing and solar sail spacecraft operations. We also want to continue raising the profile of solar sailing by sharing the excitement of the mission with the public, while documenting our results to ensure the strongest possible legacy for the LightSail program.
NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, or ACS3, is slated to launch in 2022 and will build on the groundwork we have established with LightSail 2. Carl Sagan's long-held dream of sailing the solar winds has come true, and you have helped make this citizen-funded project a reality. Thank you for your support!
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