Sailing Not Just For Assholes Anymore

Sailing, a leisure activity once limited to waspy rich folk, is being touted as the newest and bestest option for exploring the cosmos. Finnish researchers have proposed a sail made of wire that will enable mankind to harness the power of plasma as we go yachting gracefully into the final frontier:

Results drawn from computer simulations indicate that in an average solar wind, a 440-pound spacecraft could achieve final speeds of up to 62 miles a second (or 1.9 billion miles a year), allowing a spacecraft to reach Pluto in less than five years.

Whether croquet, bocce, or badminton shall be played when the space sail finally docks is still the subject of hot debate. Either way, scientists are busy at work making khaki and pastel colored spacesuits for the flight.

Read the whole story here on Wired