By Robin Young | Donor Relations Manager
Greetings, LightSail fans!
In our last report, we talked about our scale-model LightSail ending its run at the Smithsonian's FUTURES Exhibit. Our CEO Bill Nye and members of our Development staff and volunteers flew to Washington, D.C. toward the end of June - our first Planetary Society travel since before the pandemic!
Planetary Society members in the area were invited to see LightSail at the FUTURES Exhibit before its closing. Members heard remarks from our CEO and from our Chief Development Officer, Richard Chute about LightSail's mission. Afterward, we traipsed down to the National Mall for Hofstra University's "Astronomy on the Mall", a public outreach event that was part of the Smithsonian's Solstice Saturday celebration. Bill obligingly took selfies with our members and we had hundreds of visitors to our table, where we shared information about The Planetary Society and our LightSail mission.
As for LightSail itself, the Smithsonian has sent it safely back to our headquarters in Pasadena, California. Our actual solar sail is still out there, providing the Mission team with important data and - just as importantly - the breathtaking photos we have been sharing since its launch in 2019. The atmosphere is expanding due to recent solar activity, which is increasing the atmospheric drag on LightSail. We don't how much longer it will stay up there, but you can be certain that we will be planning activities to mark the end of the mission that Popular Science gave the Grand Award for the most impressive aerospace innovation of 2019!
Thanks to all of you for your support of LightSail!
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