Shooting Tiny, High Speed Bullets at a Spacecraft Could Speed Up Travel to The Stars - ScienceAlert

Today, multiple space agencies are investigating cutting-edge propulsion ideas that will allow for rapid transits to other bodies in the Solar System.

Davoyan's proposal builds on recent work with directed-energy propulsion (DEP) and light sail technology to realize a Solar Gravitational Lens.

By positioning a spacecraft at the heliopause (~500 AU from the Sun), astronomers could study exoplanets and distant objects with the resolution of a primary mirror measuring around 100 km (62 miles) in diameter.

For this reason, scientists are investigating directed energy (DE) propulsion to accelerate light sails, which could reach another star system in a matter of decades.

"The pellet beam aims to transform the way deep space is explored by enabling fast transit missions to far-away destinations," said Davoyan.

If realized, an SGL spacecraft would allow astronomers to directly image neighboring exoplanets(like Proxima b) with multi pixel resolution and obtain spectra from their atmospheres.