French aerospace company to send solar sail ship out to space

Could this be the future of interplanetary space travel?

A French aerospace company is getting ready to set sail in space - quite literally!

The company, called Gama, is going to send what's called a solar sail into orbit in October.

A solar sail is a type of ship that uses sunlight to power it's journey, a bit like how a ship on the sea would use wind to propel them forward.

These nifty contraptions use pressure from sunlight to push them forward. The angle of the sail determines the direction it flies in.

The company have raised €2 million to fund the project. The sail will be 73 square metres, and will travel 550 kilometres above the Earth.

American space organisations, such as Nasa, have tested solar sails in the past, but the first country to successfully sail one on a mission was Japan.

In 2010 it used a solar sail to power a spacecraft all the way to Venus!

They're able to travel that far as they don't need an engine to move, so they never run out of fuel.

The Gama solar sail is being sent to a SpaceX rocket

Gama thinks this means they'll be really helpful for missions into deep space, as it will make them a lot cheaper.

After this year's test, Gama wants to launch a follow-up mission in 2024 to sail even higher above our planet.

It then hopes to follow in the footsteps of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and fly to Venus.

What do you think of solar sails in space? Let us know in the comments.