In the 1970s, scientist and author Carl Sagan promoted the idea of a solar sail -- a spacecraft that could get the energy required for space travel from the sun's radiation pressure.
Now, science educator and TV host Bill Nye and nonprofit organization The Planetary Society (founded by Sagan among others; Nye is currently the CEO) has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to help make Sagan's dream a reality.
The campaign is seeking at least $200,000 and a maximum of $1 million to fund LightSail -- a mission to send a small solar-sailing spacecraft into Earth's orbit and thus demonstrate solar sails as a viable method of propulsion for space travel.
If the campaign is successful, we could see a fully operational LightSail spacecraft by December 2015, which would perform a demo flight sometime in 2016.
Things are about to get exciting earlier than that, though, as a LightSail prototype is scheduled for a test flight on May 20, 2015. If all goes well, the spacecraft will be brought to the Earth's orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket, where its systems will be tested during a month-long mission.
The Kickstarter campaign has 44 days to go with more than $86,000 in funds and more than 1,200 backers at the time of this writing. Backers will get rewards depending on the amount they pledge, ranging from digital badges, stickers and posters to an invite to the 2016 launch party at the Cape Canaveral.