Technologies

This Hyperspeed Space Sail Could Take Us to Next-Door Star Systems

For years, physicists have been trying to perfect a way to catapult space probes at a fifth the speed of light. One team is flagging an important section of the blueprint.

Only about 4 light-years away from our solar system lies Alpha Centauri, another bustling space neighborhood. It’s anchored by three stars with the same job as our sun, holds planets analogous to our eight famous orbs and may even have an Earth twin hanging out in the habitable zone. Almost like an alternate reality, the star system is a tantalizing region for space explorers.

There’s just one, glaring issue. With our present technology, spacecraft sent toward Alpha Centauri wouldn’t arrive until somewhere around the year 82022. That’s why, in 2016, late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and investor Yuri Milner launched Breakthrough Starshot — an initiative to send microchip-size space probes over to Alpha Centauri at 20% the speed of light, reducing the whopping travel time to a mere 20 years.

Their blueprint centers on a lightsail that harnesses the power of photons, aka light particles, beamed from an Earth-based laser, instead of wind like a traditional sail. Though it’d fit right in with the sci-fi tech of Star Trek, the idea gained so much popularity that researchers everywhere began studying how to bring the contraption to fruition, hoping to produce a hyperdrive that blasts around the universe at dizzying rates.

Hailing from the University of Pennsylvania, one such team is tackling a big piece of the puzzle. In a pair of papers published this month in the journal Nano Letters, researchers suggested a way to ensure these innovative spacecraft don’t tear from intense laser pulses during the two-decade-long interstellar voyage. Basically, the researchers propose the sail must «billow» in space’s void like standard boat sails wave amid Earth’s winds.

«Some of the lightsail figures from early on were billowing, some were not, but it was not well studied,» said study author Igor Bargatin, an associate professor in the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. «What we did is show you definitely need billowing.

«We realized people haven’t really looked at the mechanics of the problem, and in particular, the possibility of tears,» Bargatinadded. «We want to make sure if and when this idea is realized, people pay attention to things that could happen during acceleration.

«We don’t want these sails to fail.»

Interstellar ship parameters

Picture a boat venturing out to sea with a sail attached. The sail will heave with every gust of wind and propel the vessel forward. That propulsion happens because wind hitting the sail bounces off, creating pressure.

Lightsails aren’t all that different.

«When the photons hit our lightsail, they get reflected and they also create pressure,» Bargatin said. «The exact mechanism is a little different because we’re talking light versus actual molecules of air. But they create pressure nonetheless in both cases.» In fact, these devices have already been proven effective to a degree.

In 2010, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency launched a lightsail mission dubbed Ikaros and deemed it a success. In 2019, the experimental LightSail 2 followed suit. Funded by a Kickstarter campaign started by Bill Nye and Neil DeGrasse Tyson, it moved a small satellite in space using pure photon power.

But both Ikaros and LightSail 2 used light emanating from the sun, in contrast to Breakthrough Starshot’s vision of laser beams.

Though sunlight reduces the risk of tears, it’s too weak for Starshot’s endeavor. Plus, Bargatin says, Starshot light pulses must happen within a relatively short period of time because once the lightsail gets too far from Earth, scientists lose their ability to effectively accelerate it.

In short, to reach a fifth the speed of light — so it can access Alpha Centauri in the desired 20 years — within a strict window, lightsails would need extremely strong light pulses possible only with lasers.

«Designed pressures on our lightsails are not huge,» Bargatin said. «They’re about the same as having a penny on your hand.» In scientific terms, the pressure adds up to about 10 pascals, Bargatin says, but consider how we go about our lives without worrying about light pressure at all.

Ten Pascals of light force requires a significant amount of laser power, so unlike Ikaros’ dance with wispy sunrays, lightsails imparted with ultra harsh laser pulses can be badly damaged.

How to build a durable lightsail

According to the researchers, strong laser pulses could create pressure forceful enough to curve and tear the sheet like a taut boat sail may rip if hit by a giant gust of wind.

They believe lightsails must have the ability to «billow» and form a curved shape kind of like a parachute. Both the sail’s length and the radius of curvature, Bargatin explains, should be about 3 meters. In their new papers, the authors outline geometric measurements that ensure optimal billowing.

Even a lightsail protected from tears, however, will encounter other obstacles. To overcome such issues, the major parameter to consider is sail material. The sheets must be strong for durability, lightweight to minimize laser strength, reflect light efficiently for ideal propulsion and shed heat generated from laser pulses.

If the latter bit isn’t taken care of, Bargatin says, the sail could literally melt in space.

«You can come up with a combination of materials. The thicknesses of those materials and curved geometries would allow the sail to survive the pressures that we’re currently designing for,» Bargatin said, noting his team is mostly looking at a material called molybdenum disulfide.

In the grand scheme of things, though, building the massive laser array that’ll beam lightsails forward will be a big hurdle. Researchers working in space-based communication, Bargatin says, are also still figuring out how to retrieve information from the microchip probe attached to the lightsail.

If Breakthrough Starshot’s mechanism works one day, it’ll be a true testament to humanity’s brilliance in the field of science. In an announcement of the organization’s immense goals six years ago, Hawking stated:

«I believe what makes us unique is transcending our limits. Gravity pins us to the ground, but I just flew to America. I lost my voice, but I can still speak, thanks to my voice synthesizer. How do we transcend these limits?

«With our minds and our machines.»

Technologies

Amazon Reaches Automation Milestone by Deploying Its Millionth Robot

The company is also upgrading its entire fleet with a new generative AI model.

Amazon’s fleet of warehouse robots just hit a new milestone. The company announced Monday that it deployed its millionth bot to begin operations at a fulfillment center in Japan.

Amazon’s ambitions for robot use have long surpassed the company utilizing them for delivery service. The business juggernaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile robotics, and aims to sell them to you for use at home as well — if you have $1,600 to spare.

The robotic workers operate in over 300 Amazon warehouses across the world, creating an ever-expanding automated delivery network. More than 75% of Amazon’s global deliveries are assisted in some way by robot automation, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon has also developed a new generative AI model called DeepFleet to make the robots in the delivery system «smarter and more efficient.» According to Amazon, this new model will coordinate robots across the fulfillment network to improve package travel times by 10%.

The company’s robots currently lift thousands of pounds of packages at a time, integrate conveyor belts to move along individual items and move autonomously around the warehouse with heavy carts.

The most recent fleet upgrade, Vulcan, uses force feedback sensors to create a sense of touch, physically lifting and moving items all by itself.

Amazon’s robots work in tandem with more than 1.6 million human workers worldwide. The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon is on track to have more automated workers than employed humans, while Amazon workers have begun to unionize in recent years.

A representative for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Starlink’s Wi-Fi Is Faster in the Air Than on the Ground

Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 3 Banks on Blade, Phoenix and Shorter Seasons Restoring Excitement to the Hero Shooter

The game is in desperate need of new shake-ups, and two fan-favorite heroes alongside some quality-of-life changes might just do the trick.

Marvel Rivals is gearing up for the start of season 3 next week, and we got our first look at some of the upcoming changes, including glimpses at the two new fan-favorite Marvel heroes, Phoenix (Jean Grey) and Blade. The season trailer also heavily teased that the villain Knull might be making his way to the game in future seasons.

Season 3 is a major turning point for the hero shooter, marking the start of its new two-month seasons and the start of the era where we’ll be getting new heroes every month (one at the start of the season and one at midseason). Previously, seasons were about three months long, with new heroes coming out roughly every six weeks. The new cadence is an aggressive pace for expanding the game’s roster, and threatens to keep the metagame churning even faster, assuming those new heroes are relevant at launch.

It’s once again a high-stakes season for Rivals, which has been bleeding active players since launch. Based on SteamDB data, the start of each new half-season brings in fewer players than the previous (for example, fewer players joined for season 2.5 than for 2.0).

More concerning, is that even the the start of each half-season doesn’t bring in enough players to reach the lowest amount of players from a full season. Season 2.0’s peak count of 315,000 players sits below season 1.0’s low point of 331,000 players, and season 2.5’s peak of 190,000 is just below the season 1.5 valley of 196,000. That means the start of new seasons — the most exciting moments for the game — are losing their ability to bring in new players or bring old players back. Steam numbers don’t include console players, but it’s difficult to imagine the story there looking much different.

Rivals is probably hoping that the official launch of two long-awaited heroes and a faster seasonal rotation will reverse that trend. Here’s everything we know about Marvel Rivals season 3.0 so far.

When does season 3 start?

Marvel Rivals season 3.0 is scheduled to start on Friday, July 11 UTC. Typically, this involves servers going down for a few hours around midnight PT before being turned back on for the new season in the very early morning.

New Marvel Rivals heroes

It’s finally happening — after half a year of being rumored additions to the roster, Jean Grey and Blade are officially joining the party. Jean Grey, wielding the powerful Phoenix Force, joins at season start. While we’ll have to wait another day for a hero trailer to see her kit and abilities, the devs teased Phoenix’s AOE damage through a chain-reaction mechanic and her mobility. They also said that Phoenix’s ultimate deals massive damage and gets rid of enemy summons on the battlefield — great news if you’re facing down any combination of Namor’s turrets, Moon Knight’s ankhs, Peni’s nests and Rocket’s beacon (the latter of which have a team-up together).

Rivals continues to make Blade fans wait, since that hero won’t be added to the roster until season 3.5. But at least that’s only a month away under the new season structure.

Rivals season 3 balance changes

Rivals devs gave us a quick breakdown of the upcoming balance changes, though we’re still waiting on full details from official patch notes. Here’s the quick breakdown, with any confirmed details in parentheses.

Buffs:

Venom
Thing (gains a new ability to jump to enemies, possibly knocking down fliers)
Namor (primary fire)
Scarlet Witch (ultimate)
Invisible Woman (healing efficiency)
Mantis (healing and ultimate utility)

Nerfs:

Emma Frost
Iron Man (poke potential)
Punisher (turret)
Mister Fantastic (survivability)
Loki (ultimate charge)
Ultron

Team-up changes

Rivals is adding two new team-ups, tacking heroes onto two existing ones and removing two others (Storming Ignition and ESU Alumnus) from the game. It’s also nerfing another. Here’s the quick rundown:

New — Primal Flame: Phoenix anchors to add damage over time and lifesteal to Wolverine’s attacks after his leap.
New — Ever-Burning Bond: Human Torch anchors to let Spider-Man shoot a burning web with a flaming tracer. (The flaming tracer stacks with Spidey’s regular tracers, devs said.)
Updated — Symbiote Shenanigans: Adds Hela, giving her Soul Drainer Hel Sphere slowing tendrils.
Updated — Stark Protocol: Adds Squirrel Girl, giving her an explosive, homing gauntlet.
Updated — Guardian Revival: Devs said they’d be nerfing some element of the Guardians’ team-up.

Other things coming in season 3

The battle pass is getting some adjustments to account for shorter seasons. Battle passes still offer 10 skins, but you’ll earn tokens at a faster rate to make it easier to progress through the entire battle pass in the shorter time period. Daily missions are also going away, with weekly missions shifting to permanent quests instead of being time-limited. Seasonal missions that offer large batches of tokens are also being added.

Rivals devs also announced a new competitive mode coming in season 3.5 but said we’d have to wait for any details about it.

The game is also adding accessories (which appear to be animated stickers that float above the KO notifications), new chroma options and visual effects for ultimate abilities. Perhaps the nicest quality of life change is the ability to mix & match MVP animations with any skins, instead of having certain MVP animations locked to specific skins.