For years, physicists have been trying to perfect a way to catapult space probes at a fifth the speed of light. One team is flagging an important section of the blueprint. Monisha Ravisetti was a ...

Diffraction gratings could allow laser-sailing craft to hold the line. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Breaking space news, the ...

Laser pushed sails—ultrathin need reflective structures that are square meters but weight a gram. If the sails and the payload each weigh a gram, such a spacecraft could accelerate to one fifth of the ...

It is our nearest star system and offers perhaps the best chance of finding alien life – but reaching Alpha Centauri with current technology would take thousands of years. The good news is scientists ...