A crowdfunding project in Russia hopes to launch an artificial star into space in order to illuminate parts of the Earth via a fake Sun. If the ‘Mayak’ (or ‘Beacon’) project goes ahead later this year, scientists will be able to create 24 hour long days in some parts of the world, via a satellite that will become the brightest object in our sky (apart from the Sun). Dailymail.co.uk reports: The launch is scheduled for the summer and is expected to be taken up in a Soyuz 2 rocket, with help from Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. The team is planning to place the spacecraft in a sun-synchronous orbit 370 miles (600km) above the ground. This means it will always be in the path of sunlight, so will always be shining at different locations on Earth as it rotates. The small spacecraft will launch a giant pyramid-shaped solar reflector in orbit. The reflector is 170 square feet (16 square metres) in size and made of a thin polymer film 20 times thinner than human hair. The aim of the project is to promote space research in the country, and to make science and engineering more appealing to young Russians. The [...]