Swarm of light-sail spacecraft could be propelled by laser on the moon

A laser mounted on the moon could propel small spacecraft carrying light sails through space to help us explore faster and map distant regions for the first time

By Alex Wilkins

A swarm of tiny spacecraft propelled by a powerful laser could enable us to more rapidly explore space, and they would work as a network to map out the properties of bodies in our solar system like the sun and distant planets.

One possible method for reaching other planets and stars is by using a light sail, a thin material that can be pushed through space by particles of light, or photons, at high speed. …