Astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi has proposed a groundbreaking concept: sending a spacecraft no heavier than a paperclip to explore a black hole’s mysteries up close.

Detailed in the journal iScience, Bambi’s blueprint envisions a nanocraft propelled by powerful Earth-based lasers, speeding through space at a third of the speed of light to reach a nearby black hole within a century.

While sounding like science fiction, Bambi believes such a mission could become feasible within 20 to 30 years as laser and probe technologies advance and costs fall. The craft would weigh just a few grams, comprising a microchip and a light sail pushed by photon beams.

This propulsion method would allow the spacecraft to cover the 20 to 25 light-year distance to a potential black hole relatively quickly compared to conventional chemical propulsion, which is far too slow for interstellar travel.

Locating a suitable target black hole is crucial yet challenging, as black holes emit no light and remain invisible to traditional telescopes. Instead, astronomers infer their presence by observing gravitational effects on nearby stars or light distortions.

Advances in detection methods raise hope that a black hole within about 25 light-years of Earth could be identified within the next decade, opening a realistic window for such an ambitious journey.

Once near the black hole, the nanocraft could conduct experiments that might revolutionise physics. Scientists could explore whether black holes truly have event horizons, the points of no return where even light cannot escape, and test if the fundamental laws of physics, especially Einstein’s general relativity, hold under such extreme conditions.

Insights from this mission might challenge or confirm our understanding of space-time and gravity in ways never before possible.

Bambi acknowledges the enormous present-day cost—laser facilities alone could run to a trillion euros—and technological hurdles. Yet, he draws parallels to historical breakthroughs once considered implausible, such as the detection of gravitational waves and the imaging of black hole shadows decades after Einstein’s theories predicted them.

This visionary project exemplifies the daring spirit of astrophysics, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge by sending a tiny probe hurtling across the cosmos to unlock the deepest secrets of the universe.

It foretells a future where humanity can send lightweight explorers to the most enigmatic objects in space, potentially rewriting physics as we know it.

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