Mar 1, 2021 · Scientists have made a microflier that could fly into near space (the mesosphere) on just the power of light. Here's how the tiny aircraft works.

Feb 17, 2021 · Earth’s mesosphere comes with challenges that couldn’t be replicated in a vacuum chamber: 100 mile per hour winds, temperatures around minus-140 degrees, and space weather caused by sunspots...

The mesosphere (/ ˈ m ɛ s ə s f ɪər, ˈ m ɛ z-, ˈ m iː s ə-,-z ə-/; [1] from Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos) ' middle ' and -sphere) is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere. In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases.

The mesosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere. The mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere. It extends from about 50 to 85 km (31 to 53 miles) above our planet.

Feb 12, 2021 · Flight isn’t easy at the edge of space. But tiny “microfliers” could soar high in Earth’s atmosphere fueled only by sunlight, experiments suggest. At heights between about 50 and 80 kilometers...

Sep 21, 2024 · The air in the Mesosphere is so thin that an aircraft would have to be going thousands of miles per hour to create sufficient lift. It's been tried with the X-15 experimental aircraft.

Mar 5, 2021 · By engineering nanoscale features on ultra-lightweight mylar material, researchers say they came up with a way to allow materials to lift themselves into the air using only the energy provided by light. Engineers hope these levitating disk-shaped “micro-aircraft” can be used to study the mesosphere.

Jan 3, 2025 · Planes cannot fly in the mesosphere because the air density is too low to provide the necessary lift for conventional aircraft. As airplanes ascend, they rely on the thickness of air to stay aloft, which diminishes significantly at such high altitudes.

Feb 12, 2021 · Sunlight could be used to power microfliers travelling above the stratosphere in the mesosphere. At present, the only vehicles that can travel in this layer of our atmosphere, at an altitude...

Feb 20, 2024 · A team of engineers from the University of Pennsylvania have created a tiny spacecraft which they say can levitate in the mesosphere, using only sunlight.