Solar panels in space just got a bit easier

摘要

A SPECIAL plastic can make folded solar panels unfurl on their own when exposed to sunlight. This might be helpful for the panels that power some spacecraft. Such panels have to be launched in a small container and opened out in orbit. This usually relies on something like a coiled spring or a motor. But Chiara Daraio at the California Institute of Technology and her team have built a solar cell that unfolds itself using a shape- memory polymer which can be packed away and then return to a set shape when warmed.