On Earth, sunlight can be covered by clouds and there is no sunlight at night. But in space, the sun shines all the time.
Imagine being able to use energy from the sun all the time. Scientists at Caltech (California Institute of Technology) are working on collecting sunlight in space and sending its energy to Earth. They have created a special tool called MAPLE for this project. MAPLE's job is to test the idea of sending energy wirelessly (无线地) from space to Earth. It is a lot more difficult because we usually use wires to move electrical energy from one place to another.
To show that MAPLE could work, the scientists did a test. MAPLE sent energy to two devices (设备) 30 cm away in space. The energy was then turned into electricity, MAPLE sent energy to a lab at Caltech. The scientists were able to discover the energy, showing that it's possible to send energy from the sun to Earth from space.
The scientists at Caltech are now trying to find ways to improve MAPLE. In the future they hope to launch (发射) many large devices. Each will have huge solar panels (太阳能电池板), along with MAPLE devices to send the energy down to Earth wirelessly.
Using MAPLE, the scientists will be able to send the power to exactly where they want it, either in space or on Earth. Dr. Hajimiri, thinks that one day MAPLE could bring energy to places that need it, helping more people all over the world.
