A swarm of tiny spacecraft propelled by a powerful laser could enable us to more rapidly explore space and map out the properties of the sun and distant planets.
One possible method for reaching other planets and stars is by using a light sail, a thin material that can be pushed through space by particles of light, or photons, at high speed. So far, experiments that use the sun’s light to propel spacecraft have only been used near Earth.
Maria Pelizzo at the University of Padua in Italy and her colleagues have proposed using a powerful laser, placed either on Earth or the moon, to propel a group of small spacecraft at some 5 kilometres per second through our solar system and towards planets like Venus or Mars, or even the sun, so that they can map magnetic landscapes.
As well as providing new data about our solar system, these small craft could be a test bed for future interstellar travel, says Pelizzo.
“It simplifies things, but still allows us to send many, many satellites and explore our solar system.”
Pelizzo and her colleagues simulated the orbits and propulsion required for sending fleets of light sail-equipped CubeSats – existing satellites that weigh around 1 kilogram – out into space, calculating what sort of lasers might be required.
Most of the technology needed already exists, but for the system to function well, a powerful laser would probably need to be placed on the moon, which would take at least a decade, says Pelizzo.
Swarms of spacecraft or the use of light sails propelled by lasers aren’t new ideas, says Ciara McGrath at the University of Manchester, UK, but using a swarm to map features of planetary atmospheres could be a useful addition to conventional space missions, she says.
