Self-healing nano-spacecraft could reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years [feedly]

http://newatlas.com/self-healing-nano-spacecraft-nasa-kaist/46890/

Self-healing nano-spacecraft could reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years
// Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine



With our current technology, it would take a conventional spacecraft over 18,000 years to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, but calculations indicate a nano-spacecraft made from a silicon chip and traveling at one fifth the speed of light could make the journey in just 20 years. The problem is, such a "space-chip" wouldn't survive the intense radiation and temperature swings of deep space, so a team at NASA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are developing a method for helping the chip heal itself on the fly.

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