  In this study we considered a solar sail coated with materials that undergo
thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar
radiation at a particular heliocentric distance. Three different scenarios,
that only differ in the way the sail approaches the Sun, were analyzed and
compared. In every case once the perihelion is reached, the sail coat undergoes
thermal desorption. When the desorption process ends, the sail then escapes the
Solar System having the conventional acceleration due to solar radiation
pressure. Thermal desorption here comes as an additional source of solar sail
acceleration beside traditional propulsion systems for extrasolar space
exploration. The compared scenarios are the following: i. Hohmann transfer plus
thermal desorption. In this scenario the sail would be carried as a payload to
the perihelion with a conventional propulsion system by an Hohmann transfer
from Earth's orbit to an orbit very close to the Sun (almost at 0.1 AU) and
then be deployed there. ii. Elliptical transfer plus Slingshot plus thermal
desorption. In this scenario the transfer occurs from Earth's orbit to
Jupiter's orbit. A Jupiter's fly-by leads to the orbit close to the Sun, where
the sail is deployed. iii. Two stage acceleration of the solar sail through
thermal desorption. The proposed sail has two coats of the materials that
undergo thermal desorption at different temperatures depending on the
heliocentric distance. The first desorption occurs at the Earth orbit and
provides the thrust needed to propel the solar sail toward the Sun. The second
desorption is equivalent to that of the other scenarios.
