A miniature laser-sail spacecraft could travel to a nearby black hole in 30 years, according to astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi. The ambitious mission would test the limits of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity in one of the universe’s most extreme environments.
Bambi proposes launching a tiny spacecraft, called “nanocrafts,” to orbit a nearby black hole. Each gram-scale probe would be outfitted with sensors and a light sail, propelled by powerful ground-based lasers to nearly a third the speed of light. This would allow it to reach a black hole 20-25 light-years away in about 60-75 years.
The goal is to determine whether black holes possess event horizons, invisible boundaries beyond which nothing can escape. If an event horizon exists, the probe’s signal should gradually redshift and fade, consistent with Einstein’s predictions. However, if the black hole is a “fuzzball,” a theoretical object without an event horizon, the signal could vanish more abruptly.
The mission would require two major advances: discovering a close black hole and developing laser propulsion systems and miniature spacecraft capable of surviving interstellar travel. While building the necessary laser array now would cost around $1.1 trillion, Bambi estimates it could fall to around one billion euros within 30 years.
Bambi believes that finding a nearby black hole is possible within the next decade. If such a discovery is made, it will be only a matter of time before we develop the technology necessary to send a probe to study it.
Source: https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/a-laser-propelled-mini-spacecraft-could-travel-to-a-nearby-black-hole-astrophysicist-says