Wow. This is big. Researchers have created tiny devices called metajets that can be lifted and steered in multiple directions using lasers. For the first time, optical propulsion systems can achieve true 3D maneuvering. If this scales, it could make missions to Alpha Centauri, about 4.37 light years away, feel far less impossible. Concepts built on this approach suggest spacecraft could reach speeds of up to 20% of the speed of light (0.2c), cutting travel time to roughly 20 years. In other words, this could open the door to fuel-free, laser driven spacecraft capable of reaching another star within a human lifetime.

I’m having a moment