All asteroids rotate; the question is what they are rotating around and how fast they rotate. Rubin explained that if you want to mine on an asteroid, its rotation speed must be slow enough so that you can capture it. . Our experiments have vividly revealed that (laser pointer system) is an effective way to stop or reorient asteroids. The results show that this technology works very well.
The composition of basalt is similar to that of known asteroids. Researchers use a magnetic field to rotate the basalt, and then fix the laser in the opposite direction of the rotation to slow the rate of rotation. The basalt is placed on a torsion balance to keep it stable when bombarded by a laser.
In addition, researchers are still exploring the propulsion of photons, which is the key to the team’s latest project, galaxy exploration, and directed propulsion. The DEEP-IN project relies on the propulsion of photons, that is, the photons emitted by the laser array can be used to propel the spacecraft.
This means that in the future interstellar travel, small spacecraft will likely achieve relativistic flight-the speed is close to the speed of light. The research team also tested a photon recycling device that can recover photons through the reflection of green laser pointer light. “We set up a second reflector at a certain distance, so that the photons can move back and forth like a ping-pong ball on the reflector of the spacecraft.
We recycle these photons to achieve the effect of superposition of propulsion, so that the spacecraft can fly faster. So far, through a simple process, we have been able to achieve a magnification effect of 5 times, and it is possible to increase the magnification through improvement. “These studies have very broad prospects, but to truly integrate them into the flight system of the spacecraft, many very complex issues are involved, and researchers still have a long way to go.