Writing in the journal iScience, Bambi presents a conceptual plan for sending a gram-scale nanocraft to a nearby black hole to probe the fabric of space-time and test general relativity under extreme conditions. The proposed journey, lasting 80 to 100 years, would require breakthroughs in both detection and propulsion technology.
The first step is identifying a target. Based on stellar evolution models, a black hole may exist just 20 to 25 light-years away, but locating it will be difficult since black holes emit no light. Instead, astronomers must search for gravitational effects on nearby stars or light distortions.
"There have been new techniques to discover black holes," says Bambi. "I think it's reasonable to expect we could find a nearby one within the next decade."
Once a target is confirmed, Bambi proposes using gram-scale probes equipped with a microchip and a light sail. Powerful Earth-based lasers would accelerate the craft to about one-third of light speed, enabling it to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away in roughly 70 years. The data would arrive another 20 years later.
At its destination, the probe could investigate questions central to physics, such as whether black holes have event horizons, how gravity behaves in extreme regimes, and whether Einstein's theories remain valid under the universe's most intense forces.
Bambi estimates that the laser array alone would cost around one trillion euros today. However, he predicts that in 20 to 30 years, costs will drop and technology will catch up. "It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction," he says. "But people said we'd never detect gravitational waves... Now, 50 years later, we have images of two."
Research Report:An interstellar mission to test astrophysical black holes
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