Multifunctional Large Structures in Space
In the MFG project (Multifunctional Large Structures in Space), additional possible uses for solar sails are being researched. The project, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is a cooperation with the North Western Polytechnical University (NWPU) in Xi'an, China.
The exploration of space outside of Earth's orbit is known to be expensive, which is why available flight options cannot currently cover the demand completely. The increased use of low-cost small satellite missions is one possible solution to this problem, but these are severely limited due to significant limitations in the areas of energy supply and propulsion. This limitation could be significantly reduced if the geometric dimensions of the spacecraft in orbit could be drastically increased. While this is already used for monofunctional large structures, the following limitation still exists in the current state of the art: The functional combination of several functions into one large structure to improve space probes.