One idea, project Dragonfly, is to send a a swarm of small satellites which combine together to beam a signal back to Earth using sunlight from the target star as a power source.
Artist’s impression of a swarm of small satellites beaming a signal back to Earth.
Project Dragonfly: The case for small, laser-propelled, distributed probes
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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