---
title: "Experimental Spacecraft LightSail 2 Snaps Amazing Photos"
description: "Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail2 just snapped some incredible photos of the Earth days before it's planning to unfurl its solar sails."
date: "2019-07-17"
modified: "2019-07-17"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/lightsail-2-snaps-amazing-photos"
categories:
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "LightSail"
  - "lightsail 2"
  - "Planetary Society"
  - "the digest"
---

# Experimental Spacecraft LightSail 2 Snaps Amazing Photos

![Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail2 just snapped some incredible photos of the Earth days before it's planning to unfurl its solar sails.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/experimental-spacecraft-lightsail2-snaps-amazing-photos.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: The Planetary Society\</em\>*

## Earth Snapshot

Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail 2 just snapped some incredible photos of the Earth, days before it's scheduled to unfurl its solar sails.

Spare bandwidth allowed for two high-resolution images of our planet to reach the LightSail 2 team.

https://twitter.com/exploreplanets/status/1151521358183985152

## Solar Sail

The Planetary Society's unusual space vehicle [launched](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/website-tracks-lightsail2-space>) on top of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket last month from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

LightSail 2 will explore a futuristic new way of locomotion in outer space that relies purely on sunlight. If all goes according to plan, a boxing ring-sized solar sail will unfurl and start collecting photons from the Sun to use for momentum.

The hope is to establish a new way of traveling to the far reaches of our Solar System without having to rely on heavy and expensive rocket fuel.

## Deploying the Sail

Thanks to a firmware update sent to the spacecraft, the Planetary Society reports that it's "healthy and stable in its current orbit," according to a [statement](<http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-team-continues-tweaks-tests.html>).

The team is waiting for further data from the spacecraft to make sure it's safe to unfurl the solar sail.

**READ MORE:** [Crowdfunded spacecraft LightSail 2 snaps amazing photos ahead of solar sail deployment](<https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/17/crowdfunded-spacecraft-lightsail-2-snaps-amazing-photos-ahead-of-solar-sail-deployment/>) \[*Tech Crunch*\]

**More on LightSail 2:** *[A New Website Tracks the Just-Launched Solar Sail Spaceship](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/website-tracks-lightsail2-space>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)