A laser-powered, paperclip-sized spacecraft could travel to a black hole to collect data — here's the scientists' bold plan

Paperclip-sized spacecraft could travel to a black hole to collect data (Representational Image)

It may sound like a sci-fi movie plot, but it’s not. A paperclip-sized spacecraft might one day race through space to a black hole. The idea comes from black hole expert Cosimo Bambi and could help test the very laws of physics.

Laser-powered nanocraft to travel at light-speed

Published in iScience, the proposal suggests a future mission. The plan is to build a tiny spacecraft propelled by laser beams. It would reach speeds close to that of light. The craft would travel 20 to 25 light-years in 70 years. Data from the black hole would take 20 more years to return.

The mission could run for nearly a century in total. Bambi says the probe could study black holes closely. The goal is to test Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Scientists could also study the nature of event horizons.

Hunt for nearby black holes continues

The first challenge is to find a black hole nearby. Astronomers estimate one may lie just 20 light-years away. But black holes are invisible, making them hard to locate. Scientists detect them by watching nearby stars and light distortions.

Bambi is hopeful a target will be found soon. New detection methods may reveal hidden black holes within a decade.

Technology may be decades away

The craft would be a nanocraft, no heavier than a gram. It would use a light sail pushed by Earth-based lasers. At one-third the speed of light, it could make the trip.

Such lasers today would cost around one trillion euros. The nanocraft also needs technology that doesn’t yet exist. But Bambi believes progress in 20 to 30 years is possible.

He says many once-impossible ideas have since become real. From gravitational wave detection to black hole images, science keeps moving forward.

“We can’t do it now,” says Bambi, “but soon, we might.”