18K views · 928 reactions | It took over 100 years to go from the discovery of solar power to the first usable solar panels… and then only four more to get them into space.  The Sun powers many NASA missions, and we’re still finding new ways to harness its energy. More: go.nasa.gov/47P7EVC | NASA Space Alerts | Facebook

Japan has been quietly and consistently working on space-based solar power for more than three decades, long before it became a popular topic in futuristic illustrations and social media posts. Through JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the country began researching the idea in the 1990s as a long-term solution to structural energy constraints. The core concept is simple in theory but complex in execution: collect solar energy in orbit, where sunlight is constant, and transmit that en