The Electric Solar Wind Sail (E-sail) is an innovative propellantless propulsion system conceived by Pekka Janhunen in 2004 for use in interplanetary space. An E-sail consists of a network of electrically charged tethers maintained at a high voltage level by an electron emitter. The electrostatic field surrounding the E-sail extracts momentum from the incoming solar wind ions, thus giving rise to the generation of a continuous thrust. In a geocentric context, the same physical principle is also exploited by the plasma brake, a promising option for reducing the decay time of satellites in low Earth orbits after the end of their operational life. This paper discusses the scientific advances of both E-sail and plasma brake concepts from their first design to the current state of the art. A general description of the E-sail architecture is first presented with particular emphasis on the proposed tether deployment mechanisms and thermo-structural analyses that have been carried out over the recent years. The working principle of an E-sail is then illustrated and the evolution of the thrust and torque vector models is retraced to emphasize the subsequent refinements that these models have encountered. The dynamic behavior of an E-sail is also analyzed by illustrating the mathematical tools that have been proposed and developed for both orbital dynamics and attitude control. A particular effort is devoted to reviewing the numerous mission scenarios that have been studied to date. In fact, the extensive literature about E-sail-based mission scenarios demonstrates the versatility of such an innovative propulsion system in an interplanetary framework. Credit is given to the very recent studies on environmental uncertainties, which highlight the importance of using suitable control strategies for the compensation of solar wind fluctuations. Finally, the applications of the plasma brake are thoroughly reviewed.

电动太阳风帆 (E-sail) 是一种创新的无推进剂推进系统，由 Pekka Janhunen 于 2004 年构思，用于行星际空间。电子帆由带电系绳网络组成，由电子发射器维持在高电压水平。E-sail 周围的静电场从传入的太阳风离子中提取动量，从而产生连续推力。在地心背景下，等离子体制动器也利用了相同的物理原理，这是一种减少低地球轨道卫星在其使用寿命结束后衰减时间的有希望的选择。本文讨论了 E-sail 和等离子制动概念从最初的设计到当前最先进技术的科学进步。首先介绍了 E-sail 架构的一般描述，特别强调了近年来进行的拟议系绳部署机制和热结构分析。然后说明了 E-sail 的工作原理，并追溯推力和扭矩矢量模型的演变，以强调这些模型遇到的后续改进。还通过说明为轨道动力学和姿态控制提出和开发的数学工具来分析 E-sail 的动力学行为。一项特别的努力致力于审查迄今为止研究过的众多任务场景。实际上，关于基于 E-sail 的任务场景的大量文献证明了这种创新推进系统在行星际框架中的多功能性。归功于最近对环境不确定性的研究，这些研究强调了使用合适的控制策略来补偿太阳风波动的重要性。最后，彻底回顾了等离子制动器的应用。