French Unix specialist Steria SA says it has been given the task of developing the graphical features and animation for a simulation to explain the voyage of Vinci, the European sun sailing ship, to the public: at the end of the century, Vinci is scheduled to take off and voyage to the dark side of the moon and photograph it, to demonstrate that it is possible to propel interplanetary space engines with the aid of pressure exercised by photons emitted from the sun onto enormous sails that extend tens of housands of square feet; for the public simulation, the French National Science Institute will provide the spatial mechanic algorithms; Steria, Sema Group Plc and Christol Consultants will jointly develop the simulator, which will enable you and me to try piloting the interplanetary sailing ship.
