Researchers at Texas A&M University have demonstrated a laser-driven propulsion system that can lift and steer tiny objects without physical contact, a step that could one day help power spacecraft to nearby stars.

The team used specially engineered micron-scale devices called “metajets” that move when struck by laser light. By shaping how the devices interact with incoming light, researchers were able to control motion in multiple directions.

The breakthrough matters because current rocket technology would take hundreds of thousands of years to reach Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system. Texas A&M researchers say light-based propulsion could eventually cut that journey to roughly 20 years.

For now, the experiments were carried out on devices smaller than the width of a human hair, but the team says the underlying physics could scale to much larger systems if enough optical power is available.

Light becomes thrust

Metajets are built from metasurfaces, ultrathin materials patterned with nanoscale structures that can precisely control how light behaves.

Instead of using fuel, the system relies on momentum transfer from photons. When laser light reflects from the surface, it exerts a tiny force that can push an object forward.

Researchers compare the effect to ping pong balls bouncing off a surface. Each impact transfers momentum, and enough of those impacts can create measurable thrust.

By carefully designing the surface geometry, the team made the devices move in three dimensions, allowing lifting, turning, and steering.

That level of control is notable because many earlier optical propulsion systems focused on movement in limited directions or depended on shaping the light beam itself.

Steering with photons

Texas A&M says its method places the control directly into the material rather than the external light source. That could simplify future systems and make scaling easier.

The force generated depends mainly on the power of the light rather than the size of the device, suggesting similar principles may apply to much larger platforms.

To build the metajets, the team used nanoscale fabrication techniques that precisely controlled the shape, orientation, and placement of tiny features across each surface.

Testing took place in a fluid environment, which helped offset gravity and made the motion easier to observe.

The researchers are now seeking funding to test the concept in microgravity, where laser propulsion could be studied without the constraints of Earth’s gravity.

If successful, the technology could eventually support fuel-free movement for tiny machines, orbital systems, or deep-space probes.

Long-term, laser-driven sails or related spacecraft concepts have been proposed as a path to interstellar travel. The new work adds another approach for controlling motion using light itself.

Beyond spaceflight, the ability to move objects without contact may also prove useful in precision manufacturing, micro-robotics, and advanced sensing systems.

The project was led by researchers in the Lab for Advanced Nanophotonics at Texas A&M.

The study was published in Newton.