P6_9 Sailing Away From Global Warming

Abstract

Concern for global warming has raised over the last few decades, hence motivations to palliate its effects have increased. We investigate increasing the radius of Earth’s orbit by solar sailing in order to reduce the amount of solar radiation incident on the planet, consequently reducing surface temperatures. We found that Earth’s distance from the Sun would have to increase by 1.2×10^9 m and the surface area of the sails needed is approximately 1.4 × 10^54 m^2.