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
Attaching light sails to CubeSats could allow them to be propelled across space by lasers
ESA/Medialab
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. …