🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 162 (from laksa109)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa162.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical, ml_categories_json AS ml_categories_json, ml_types_json AS ml_types_json, ml_intent_types_json AS ml_intent_types_json, meta_language AS meta_language, attrs_author AS attrs_author, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(attrs_publish_time), 0) AS attrs_publish_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(attrs_original_publish_time), 0) AS attrs_original_publish_time, ifNull(attrs_is_republished, 0) AS attrs_is_republished, ifNull(attrs_nr_words, 0) AS attrs_nr_words, ifNull(attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words, 0) AS attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words, ifNull(body_ext_links_number, 0) AS body_ext_links_number, ifNull(body_int_links_number, 0) AS body_int_links_number, ifNull(meta_nofollow, 0) AS meta_nofollow, ifNull(meta_noarchive, 0) AS meta_noarchive, ifNull(props_was_rendered, 0) AS props_was_rendered, ifNull(src_redirect, \'\') AS src_redirect, ifNull(download_time_msec, 0) AS download_time_msec, ifNull(download_ttfb_msec, 0) AS download_ttfb_msec, ifNull(download_size, 0) AS download_size FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a70532581/black-hole-mission-science/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a70532581/black-hole-mission-science/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a70532581\/black-hole-mission-science\/","crawl_time":1776851934,"first_indexed_time":1772200971,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,popularmechanics!www,\/space\/a70532581\/black-hole-mission-science\/ s443","src_root_hash":"11125021743305196162","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan.","meta_descriptions":["The black hole would have to be within 25 light years from Earth, and we haven’t seen one that close yet. That’s not stopping Cosimo Bambi."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:\nIt may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century.\nFor a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet.\nObserving a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics.\nOn April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The\nfirst-ever image of a black hole\n—starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*, sometimes shortened to Sag A*)\nwould be imaged\nby EHT three years later.\nSo, we can finally see these things. What we\ncan’t\nyet do is send a\nspacecraft\nto one.\nBut astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a\nlaser beam\n, that is. While Sag A* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and\nGaia-BH1\n(the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away.\nHe may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes\nas close to Earth\nas 150 light-years away. These alleged\nblack holes\nare thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes.\nWhether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive\naccretion disks\nthat made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests\nin his study\n—the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there.\nThe proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the\nBreakthrough Starshot\ninitiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same.\nSpacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and\ndata\nbeamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years.\nNow, none of this can be done before the\ntechnology\nis actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years.\n“It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a\nrecent press release\n. “But people said we’d never detect\ngravitational waves\nbecause they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.”\nThe Best AirPods\nApple AirPods Pro 3\nNow 20% Off\nBest Portable Power Station\nJackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station\nNow 46% Off\nCompact Power Bank\nAnker Nano Power Bank\nNow 17% Off\nBest Overall Portable Jump Starter\nGOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter\nNow 24% Off\nBest Value Drone\nPotensic ATOM SE GPS Drone\nNow 8% Off\nBest Overall Robot Vacuum\nroborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop\nNow 38% Off\nBest Overall Photo Scanner\nEpson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System\nNow 11% Off\nBest Vacuum for Pet Hair\nShark Stratos Upright Vacuum\nNow 43% Off\nElizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.","attrs_markdown":"[![Search](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/search.f1c199c.svg)Search](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/search\/)\n\n![Close](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/close.38e3324.svg?primary=%2523595959)\n***\n- [Newsletter](https:\/\/popularmechanics.com\/email\/popularmechanics-newsletter)\n- [Pop Mech Pro](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/about\/a40180523\/pop-mech-pro-membership-news-benefits\/)\n- [Subscribe](https:\/\/shop.popularmechanics.com\/popular-mechanics-all-access-3499.html?cds_tracking_code=poppanelnav)\n- [Home and DIY](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/home\/)\n- [Power Tools](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/home\/tools\/)\n- [Cars](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/cars\/)\n- [Technology](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/technology\/)\n- 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in](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/auth\/csrf?action=login&return_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.popularmechanics.com%2Fspace%2Fa70532581%2Fblack-hole-mission-science%2F)\n\n[Subscribe](https:\/\/shop.popularmechanics.com\/popular-mechanics-all-access-3499.html?cds_tracking_code=poptopnav)\n\n- [Science](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/)\n- [Home & DIY](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/home\/)\n- [Technology](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/technology\/)\n- [Gear Reviews](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/product-reviews\/)\n- [Military](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/military\/)\n- [Transportation](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/transportation\/)\n- [Culture & Curiosities](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/culture\/)\n- [About](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/about\/a45\/about-us\/)\n- [More](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a70532581\/black-hole-mission-science\/)\n\n1. [Space](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/)\n2. [This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan to Reach It at 1\/3 the Speed of Light.](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a70532581\/black-hole-mission-science\/)\n# This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan to Reach It at 1\/3 the Speed of Light.\nIt’s so wild that it just might work.\n\nBy [Elizabeth Rayne](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/author\/414420\/elizabeth-rayne\/ \"Elizabeth Rayne\")\n\nPublished: Feb 27, 2026 8:55 AM EST\n\n![bookmarks](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/saved.ad81f1a.svg?primary=%2523000000)\n\n![Open share options](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/social\/sharing.89c15b8.svg)\n\n![bookmarks](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/chat-text-regular.fbcc23c.svg?primary=%2523000000)19\n\n![bookmarks](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/headphones-regular.117021e.svg?primary=%2523000000)Listen (5 min)5 min\n\nHere’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:\n\n- It may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century.\n- For a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet.\n- Observing a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics.\n***\nOn April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The [first-ever image of a black hole](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a27099934\/eht-black-hole-picture\/)—starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A\\*, sometimes shortened to Sag A\\*) [would be imaged](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a39981788\/milky-ways-black-hole-imaged-2022\/) by EHT three years later.\n\nSo, we can finally see these things. What we *can’t* yet do is send a [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/solar-system\/a26655\/cassini-captures-saturns-shifting-seasons\/) to one.\n\nBut astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a [laser beam](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a64968838\/laser-powered-lightsail-interstellar-travel\/), that is. While Sag A\\* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and [Gaia-BH1](https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/closest-black-hole-to-earth#:~:text=The%20closest%20black%20hole%20to,lightyears%20away%20called%20Gaia%20BH1) (the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away.\n\n## Related Story\n- [![](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/black-hole-artwork-royalty-free-illustration-1767715823.pjpeg?crop=1xw:0.75095xh;center,top&resize=300:*)Scientists Are Plotting a Journey Into a Black Hole](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a69611633\/black-hole-nanocraft-mission\/)\n\nHe may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes [as close to Earth](https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/mnras\/article\/524\/2\/1965\/7210551?login=false)as 150 light-years away. These alleged [black holes](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a65440487\/largest-black-hole-merger\/) are thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes.\n\nWhether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive [accretion disks](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a27887451\/black-hole-accretion-disk-photo\/) that made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A\\*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests [in his study](https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2509.11222)—the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there.\n\nThe proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the [Breakthrough Starshot](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/news\/a27493\/breakthrough-starshot-hits-its-first-goal\/) initiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same.\n\n## Related Story\n- [![](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/nebula-girl-royalty-free-image-1715283447.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.669xh;0,0.143xh&resize=300:*)The Source of All Consciousness May Be Black Holes](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a60717306\/cosmological-natural-selection-theory-explained\/)\n\nSpacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and [data](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/technology\/a20616\/microsoft-is-packing-data-into-dna\/) beamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years.\n\nNow, none of this can be done before the [technology](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a31080902\/fusion-energy-hydrogen-boron\/) is actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years.\n\n“It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a [recent press release](https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1093283). “But people said we’d never detect [gravitational waves](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a44371171\/scientists-find-gravitational-wave-background\/) because they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.”\n\n## Best-Selling Products We Recommend\n![Chevron Left Icon](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-left-regular.dc4f48a.svg?primary=%2523D4D4D4)\n\n![Chevron Right Icon](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-right-regular.e879c19.svg?primary=%2523fff)\n\nThe Best AirPods\n\n[![AirPods Pro 3](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1759335550-218Mmzk0EaL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Apple AirPods Pro 3\nNow 20% Off\n\n[~~\\$249~~ \\$200 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Portable Power Station\n\n[![Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1773926434-1760629821-jackery-explorer-1000-power-station-0354-goty-2026-68f1142203d04.jpg?crop=0.669xw:1.00xh;0.0700xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station\nNow 46% Off\n\n[~~\\$799~~ \\$429 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nCompact Power Bank\n\n[![Nano Power Bank](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1765987060-31dZY0UUv7L._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Anker Nano Power Bank\nNow 17% Off\n\n[~~\\$60~~ \\$50 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Overall Portable Jump Starter\n\n[![\\<p\\>6000A Portable Jump Starter\\<\/p\\>](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771429433-1765209386-gooloo-gt6000-001-6936f51557e0e.jpg?crop=1xw:0.999xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### GOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter\nNow 24% Off\n\n[~~\\$170~~ \\$130 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Value Drone\n\n[![ATOM SE GPS Drone](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771557086-1770058608-potensic-atom-se-gps-drone-038-6980f35a270c4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.208xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone\nNow 8% Off\n\n[~~\\$250~~ \\$230 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Overall Robot Vacuum\n\n[![On Sale](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/popularmechanics\/static\/images\/badges\/on-sale.6dcaf10.svg) ![Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771556239-1759845462-1759348676-roborock-qrevo-mop-vacuum-combo-015-68dd878e7e08e.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0577xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop\nNow 38% Off\n\n[~~\\$650~~ \\$400 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Overall Photo Scanner\n\n[![FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771556285-1770923662-epson-fastfoto-ff-680w-004-698e265dc6c33.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.136xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Epson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System\nNow 11% Off\n\n[~~\\$630~~ \\$560 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\nBest Vacuum for Pet Hair\n\n[![Stratos Upright Vacuum](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1767635415-1753446693-ghk070925-labtesting-vaccumes-074-688378edadbb4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0657xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum\nNow 43% Off\n\n[~~\\$530~~ \\$300 at Amazon](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n![Headshot of Elizabeth Rayne](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/rover\/profile_photos\/4e76c835-faea-430d-b35c-1d6bd85f7d11_1727374181.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*)\n\n[Elizabeth Rayne](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/author\/414420\/elizabeth-rayne\/)\n\nFreelancer\n\nElizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.\n\nAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below\n\n## [Space](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/)\n[![White Abstract background.Tunnel Futuristic digital background for business Science and technology](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/5ead1717-0f80-4f8e-bc93-ec9137cad3db.jpeg?crop=0.562461538462xw:1xh;center,top&resize=360:*)Black Holes Are Defying Their Own Rules of Physics](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a71018151\/black-hole-rule-breaking\/)\n\n[![Circle of lines](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/c7a8cec6-9e55-4766-902c-72ae08008b34.jpeg?crop=0.666666666667xw:1xh;center,top&resize=360:*)Why the Hubble Tension Remains So Puzzling](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a71007601\/hubble-constant-measured\/)\n\n[![Blue Fog and Sparkles against Dark Background](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/60801611-3d79-4f12-ac3a-24632d37e027.jpeg?crop=0.472xw:0.84xh;0.264xw,0.16xh&resize=360:*)Dark Matter May Be Filling Our Galaxy With Light](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a71006216\/bizarre-dark-matter-particle\/)\n\n[![ancient map showing phases of moon with photos of moon superimposed](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/ancient-map-showing-phases-of-moon-with-photos-of-royalty-free-image-1722519802.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0680xw,0&resize=360:*)How This 400-Year-Old Error Solved a Solar Mystery](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/solar-system\/a70995778\/johannes-kepler-drawing-solves-solar-mystery_1776012064\/)\n\nAdvertisement - 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A Part of Hearst Digital Media](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/popularmechanics\/static\/images\/logos\/network-logo.910b3ba.svg?primary=%2523ffffff)\n\nA Part of Hearst Digital Media\n\nWe may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.\n\n©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.\n\n[Privacy Notice](https:\/\/www.hearst.com\/-\/us-magazines-privacy-notice)[CA Notice at Collection](https:\/\/www.hearst.com\/-\/us-magazines-privacy-notice#_ADDITIONAL_INFO)[Your CA Privacy Rights\/Shine the Light](https:\/\/www.hearst.com\/-\/us-magazines-privacy-notice#_ADDITIONAL_INFO)[DAA Industry Opt Out](https:\/\/www.hearst.com\/-\/us-magazines-privacy-notice#_OPT_OUTS)[Terms of Use](https:\/\/www.hearst.com\/-\/us-magazines-terms-of-use)[Site Map](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/sitemap\/)\n\n[Cookies Choices](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a70532581\/black-hole-mission-science\/ \"Cookies Choices\")","attrs_readable_markdown":"Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:\n\n- It may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century.\n- For a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet.\n- Observing a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics.\n***\nOn April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The [first-ever image of a black hole](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a27099934\/eht-black-hole-picture\/)—starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A\\*, sometimes shortened to Sag A\\*) [would be imaged](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a39981788\/milky-ways-black-hole-imaged-2022\/) by EHT three years later.\n\nSo, we can finally see these things. What we *can’t* yet do is send a [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/solar-system\/a26655\/cassini-captures-saturns-shifting-seasons\/) to one.\n\nBut astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a [laser beam](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a64968838\/laser-powered-lightsail-interstellar-travel\/), that is. While Sag A\\* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and [Gaia-BH1](https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/closest-black-hole-to-earth#:~:text=The%20closest%20black%20hole%20to,lightyears%20away%20called%20Gaia%20BH1) (the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away.\n\nHe may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes [as close to Earth](https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/mnras\/article\/524\/2\/1965\/7210551?login=false)as 150 light-years away. These alleged [black holes](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a65440487\/largest-black-hole-merger\/) are thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes.\n\nWhether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive [accretion disks](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a27887451\/black-hole-accretion-disk-photo\/) that made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A\\*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests [in his study](https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2509.11222)—the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there.\n\nThe proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the [Breakthrough Starshot](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/news\/a27493\/breakthrough-starshot-hits-its-first-goal\/) initiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same.\n\nSpacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and [data](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/technology\/a20616\/microsoft-is-packing-data-into-dna\/) beamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years.\n\nNow, none of this can be done before the [technology](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/a31080902\/fusion-energy-hydrogen-boron\/) is actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years.\n\n“It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a [recent press release](https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/1093283). “But people said we’d never detect [gravitational waves](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/deep-space\/a44371171\/scientists-find-gravitational-wave-background\/) because they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.”\n\nThe Best AirPods\n\n[![AirPods Pro 3](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1759335550-218Mmzk0EaL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Apple AirPods Pro 3\nNow 20% Off\n\nBest Portable Power Station\n\n[![Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1773926434-1760629821-jackery-explorer-1000-power-station-0354-goty-2026-68f1142203d04.jpg?crop=0.669xw:1.00xh;0.0700xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station\nNow 46% Off\n\nCompact Power Bank\n\n[![Nano Power Bank](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1765987060-31dZY0UUv7L._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Anker Nano Power Bank\nNow 17% Off\n\nBest Overall Portable Jump Starter\n\n[![\\<p\\>6000A Portable Jump Starter\\<\/p\\>](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771429433-1765209386-gooloo-gt6000-001-6936f51557e0e.jpg?crop=1xw:0.999xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### GOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter\nNow 24% Off\n\nBest Value Drone\n\n[![ATOM SE GPS Drone](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771557086-1770058608-potensic-atom-se-gps-drone-038-6980f35a270c4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.208xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone\nNow 8% Off\n\nBest Overall Robot Vacuum\n\n[![On Sale](https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/popularmechanics\/static\/images\/badges\/on-sale.6dcaf10.svg) ![Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771556239-1759845462-1759348676-roborock-qrevo-mop-vacuum-combo-015-68dd878e7e08e.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0577xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop\nNow 38% Off\n\nBest Overall Photo Scanner\n\n[![FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1771556285-1770923662-epson-fastfoto-ff-680w-004-698e265dc6c33.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.136xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Epson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System\nNow 11% Off\n\nBest Vacuum for Pet Hair\n\n[![Stratos Upright Vacuum](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1767635415-1753446693-ghk070925-labtesting-vaccumes-074-688378edadbb4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0657xw,0&resize=980:*)](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20)\n\n###### Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum\nNow 43% Off\n\n![Headshot of Elizabeth Rayne](https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/rover\/profile_photos\/4e76c835-faea-430d-b35c-1d6bd85f7d11_1727374181.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*)\n\nElizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.","meta_canonical":null,"ml_categories_json":"{\"\/Science\":971,\"\/Science\/Astronomy\":945}","ml_types_json":"{\"\/Article\":996,\"\/Article\/Story\":524}","ml_intent_types_json":"{\"Informational\":999}","meta_language":"en-us","attrs_author":"Elizabeth Rayne","attrs_publish_time":1772200500,"attrs_original_publish_time":1772200500,"attrs_is_republished":0,"attrs_nr_words":"1312","attrs_boilerpipe_nr_words":"899","body_ext_links_number":27,"body_int_links_number":68,"meta_nofollow":0,"meta_noarchive":1,"props_was_rendered":0,"src_redirect":"","download_time_msec":2836,"download_ttfb_msec":2813,"download_size":143402}

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This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan.

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The black hole would have to be within 25 light years from Earth, and we haven’t seen one that close yet. That’s not stopping Cosimo Bambi.

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Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: It may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century. For a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet. Observing a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics. On April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The first-ever image of a black hole —starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*, sometimes shortened to Sag A*) would be imaged by EHT three years later. So, we can finally see these things. What we can’t yet do is send a spacecraft to one. But astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a laser beam , that is. While Sag A* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and Gaia-BH1 (the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away. He may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes as close to Earth as 150 light-years away. These alleged black holes are thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes. Whether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive accretion disks that made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests in his study —the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there. The proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the Breakthrough Starshot initiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same. Spacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and data beamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years. Now, none of this can be done before the technology is actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years. “It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a recent press release . “But people said we’d never detect gravitational waves because they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.” The Best AirPods Apple AirPods Pro 3 Now 20% Off Best Portable Power Station Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station Now 46% Off Compact Power Bank Anker Nano Power Bank Now 17% Off Best Overall Portable Jump Starter GOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter Now 24% Off Best Value Drone Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone Now 8% Off Best Overall Robot Vacuum roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop Now 38% Off Best Overall Photo Scanner Epson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System Now 11% Off Best Vacuum for Pet Hair Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum Now 43% Off Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.

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[Space](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/) 2. [This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan to Reach It at 1/3 the Speed of Light.](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a70532581/black-hole-mission-science/) # This Man Wants to Visit a Black Hole. Inside His Radical Plan to Reach It at 1/3 the Speed of Light. It’s so wild that it just might work. By [Elizabeth Rayne](https://www.popularmechanics.com/author/414420/elizabeth-rayne/ "Elizabeth Rayne") Published: Feb 27, 2026 8:55 AM EST ![bookmarks](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/saved.ad81f1a.svg?primary=%2523000000) ![Open share options](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/social/sharing.89c15b8.svg) ![bookmarks](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/chat-text-regular.fbcc23c.svg?primary=%2523000000)19 ![bookmarks](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/headphones-regular.117021e.svg?primary=%2523000000)Listen (5 min)5 min Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: - It may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century. - For a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet. - Observing a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics. *** On April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The [first-ever image of a black hole](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a27099934/eht-black-hole-picture/)—starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A\*, sometimes shortened to Sag A\*) [would be imaged](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a39981788/milky-ways-black-hole-imaged-2022/) by EHT three years later. So, we can finally see these things. What we *can’t* yet do is send a [spacecraft](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/solar-system/a26655/cassini-captures-saturns-shifting-seasons/) to one. But astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a [laser beam](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64968838/laser-powered-lightsail-interstellar-travel/), that is. While Sag A\* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and [Gaia-BH1](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/closest-black-hole-to-earth#:~:text=The%20closest%20black%20hole%20to,lightyears%20away%20called%20Gaia%20BH1) (the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away. ## Related Story - [![](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/black-hole-artwork-royalty-free-illustration-1767715823.pjpeg?crop=1xw:0.75095xh;center,top&resize=300:*)Scientists Are Plotting a Journey Into a Black Hole](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a69611633/black-hole-nanocraft-mission/) He may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes [as close to Earth](https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/524/2/1965/7210551?login=false)as 150 light-years away. These alleged [black holes](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a65440487/largest-black-hole-merger/) are thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes. Whether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive [accretion disks](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a27887451/black-hole-accretion-disk-photo/) that made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A\*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests [in his study](https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11222)—the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there. The proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the [Breakthrough Starshot](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/news/a27493/breakthrough-starshot-hits-its-first-goal/) initiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same. ## Related Story - [![](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/nebula-girl-royalty-free-image-1715283447.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.669xh;0,0.143xh&resize=300:*)The Source of All Consciousness May Be Black Holes](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a60717306/cosmological-natural-selection-theory-explained/) Spacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and [data](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a20616/microsoft-is-packing-data-into-dna/) beamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years. Now, none of this can be done before the [technology](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a31080902/fusion-energy-hydrogen-boron/) is actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years. “It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a [recent press release](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1093283). “But people said we’d never detect [gravitational waves](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a44371171/scientists-find-gravitational-wave-background/) because they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.” ## Best-Selling Products We Recommend ![Chevron Left Icon](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/arrow-left-regular.dc4f48a.svg?primary=%2523D4D4D4) ![Chevron Right Icon](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/fre/static/icons/arrow-right-regular.e879c19.svg?primary=%2523fff) The Best AirPods [![AirPods Pro 3](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1759335550-218Mmzk0EaL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Apple AirPods Pro 3 Now 20% Off [~~\$249~~ \$200 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Portable Power Station [![Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1773926434-1760629821-jackery-explorer-1000-power-station-0354-goty-2026-68f1142203d04.jpg?crop=0.669xw:1.00xh;0.0700xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station Now 46% Off [~~\$799~~ \$429 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Compact Power Bank [![Nano Power Bank](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1765987060-31dZY0UUv7L._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Anker Nano Power Bank Now 17% Off [~~\$60~~ \$50 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Overall Portable Jump Starter [![\<p\>6000A Portable Jump Starter\</p\>](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771429433-1765209386-gooloo-gt6000-001-6936f51557e0e.jpg?crop=1xw:0.999xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### GOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter Now 24% Off [~~\$170~~ \$130 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Value Drone [![ATOM SE GPS Drone](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771557086-1770058608-potensic-atom-se-gps-drone-038-6980f35a270c4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.208xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone Now 8% Off [~~\$250~~ \$230 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Overall Robot Vacuum [![On Sale](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/popularmechanics/static/images/badges/on-sale.6dcaf10.svg) ![Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771556239-1759845462-1759348676-roborock-qrevo-mop-vacuum-combo-015-68dd878e7e08e.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0577xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop Now 38% Off [~~\$650~~ \$400 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Overall Photo Scanner [![FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771556285-1770923662-epson-fastfoto-ff-680w-004-698e265dc6c33.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.136xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Epson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System Now 11% Off [~~\$630~~ \$560 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) Best Vacuum for Pet Hair [![Stratos Upright Vacuum](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1767635415-1753446693-ghk070925-labtesting-vaccumes-074-688378edadbb4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0657xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum Now 43% Off [~~\$530~~ \$300 at Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ![Headshot of Elizabeth Rayne](https://hips.hearstapps.com/rover/profile_photos/4e76c835-faea-430d-b35c-1d6bd85f7d11_1727374181.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*) [Elizabeth Rayne](https://www.popularmechanics.com/author/414420/elizabeth-rayne/) Freelancer Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting. 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Readable Markdown

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: - It may be possible for a swarm of ultralight nanocrafts—propelled by a laser and traveling at a third of the speed of light—to make it to a black hole within about a century. - For a spacecraft like that to reach a black hole in such a relatively short time, there would have to be a black hole 20-25 light-years from Earth, and none so close have been observed yet. - Observing a black hole so close could answer questions that might warp the rules of physics. *** On April 10, 2019, a black hole broke the internet. The [first-ever image of a black hole](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a27099934/eht-black-hole-picture/)—starring the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87—was published by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). In an equally impressive follow-up, our own galaxy’s supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A\*, sometimes shortened to Sag A\*) [would be imaged](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a39981788/milky-ways-black-hole-imaged-2022/) by EHT three years later. So, we can finally see these things. What we *can’t* yet do is send a [spacecraft](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/solar-system/a26655/cassini-captures-saturns-shifting-seasons/) to one. But astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi (from Fudan University in China) has a vision. He sees a visit to a black hole happening within the next century—if we can develop a spacecraft light enough to be shot through space by a [laser beam](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64968838/laser-powered-lightsail-interstellar-travel/), that is. While Sag A\* is a staggering 26,000 light-years from Earth, and [Gaia-BH1](https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/closest-black-hole-to-earth#:~:text=The%20closest%20black%20hole%20to,lightyears%20away%20called%20Gaia%20BH1) (the closest known stellar-mass black hole) is 1,560 light-years away, they may not be our only visitation options. Bambi thinks there could possibly be a smaller black hole hiding as close as 20 to 25 light-years away. He may be (approximately) right. While 20 light-years may be something of a stretch, in 2023, a team of researchers from the University of Padua in Italy and the University of Barcelona in Spain found that there could be stellar-mass black holes [as close to Earth](https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/524/2/1965/7210551?login=false)as 150 light-years away. These alleged [black holes](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a65440487/largest-black-hole-merger/) are thought to exist in the Hyades open cluster—a horde of stars, close in age and chemical composition, held loosely together by their gravitational pull. When the team ran simulations that were supposed to end up matching the mass and size of the cluster, the only way they could reach those numbers was by including black holes. Whether these black holes actually exist, however, remains to be proven. They will be exceedingly difficult for telescopes to observe because, as their name implies, black holes emit no light. And stellar-mass black holes lack the massive [accretion disks](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a27887451/black-hole-accretion-disk-photo/) that made it possible to image the M87 black hole and Sag A\*. On top of that, even if—as Bambi suggests [in his study](https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11222)—the closest black holes are slightly further from us than 20-25 light years away, and hypothetically could be reached by a spacecraft traveling at the speed of light over a century and a half, there is still the issue of creating a spacecraft light and fast enough to trek over there. The proposal? Micro-spacecraft with light sails. These have been proposed as a way to observe distant objects up close before—the [Breakthrough Starshot](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/news/a27493/breakthrough-starshot-hits-its-first-goal/) initiative is looking to send a swarm of nanocrafts to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. And those nanocrafts are similar to what Bambi is considering. No heavier than a paperclip, these tiny space probes with microchips on board will be attached to light sails propelled by a ground-based laser. Breakthrough Starshot is aiming for speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (a third of the speed of light), and Bambi is pushing for about the same. Spacecraft traveling at a third of the speed of light would only take 70 years to reach a black hole 20 to 25 light-years away (and [data](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a20616/microsoft-is-packing-data-into-dna/) beamed back from the mission will take another two decades to reach us). If there are none that close, their next port of call would be the Hyades cluster—a journey that would take at least 420 years. Now, none of this can be done before the [technology](https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a31080902/fusion-energy-hydrogen-boron/) is actually developed. But Bambi thinks that the lower costs and technological advancements needed for a nanocraft swarm may actually evolve within 30 years. “It may sound really crazy, and in a sense closer to science fiction,” he said in a [recent press release](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1093283). “But people said we’d never detect [gravitational waves](https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a44371171/scientists-find-gravitational-wave-background/) because they’re too weak. We did—100 years later. People thought we’d never observe the shadows of black holes. “Now, 50 years later, we have images of two.” The Best AirPods [![AirPods Pro 3](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1759335550-218Mmzk0EaL._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQFB8FMG?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Apple AirPods Pro 3 Now 20% Off Best Portable Power Station [![Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1773926434-1760629821-jackery-explorer-1000-power-station-0354-goty-2026-68f1142203d04.jpg?crop=0.669xw:1.00xh;0.0700xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7PPG25F?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus Portable Power Station Now 46% Off Compact Power Bank [![Nano Power Bank](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1765987060-31dZY0UUv7L._SL500_.jpg?crop=1xw:1.00xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGKWTQQC?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Anker Nano Power Bank Now 17% Off Best Overall Portable Jump Starter [![\<p\>6000A Portable Jump Starter\</p\>](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771429433-1765209386-gooloo-gt6000-001-6936f51557e0e.jpg?crop=1xw:0.999xh;center,top&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT5YNC5Z?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### GOOLOO 6000A Portable Jump Starter Now 24% Off Best Value Drone [![ATOM SE GPS Drone](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771557086-1770058608-potensic-atom-se-gps-drone-038-6980f35a270c4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.208xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFWS4N4T?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Potensic ATOM SE GPS Drone Now 8% Off Best Overall Robot Vacuum [![On Sale](https://www.popularmechanics.com/_assets/design-tokens/popularmechanics/static/images/badges/on-sale.6dcaf10.svg) ![Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771556239-1759845462-1759348676-roborock-qrevo-mop-vacuum-combo-015-68dd878e7e08e.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0577xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DS5WV7V6?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### roborock Qrevo Series Robot Vacuum and Mop Now 38% Off Best Overall Photo Scanner [![FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1771556285-1770923662-epson-fastfoto-ff-680w-004-698e265dc6c33.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.136xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DLX26BB?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Epson FastFoto FF-640 High-Speed Photo Scanning System Now 11% Off Best Vacuum for Pet Hair [![Stratos Upright Vacuum](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1767635415-1753446693-ghk070925-labtesting-vaccumes-074-688378edadbb4.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.0657xw,0&resize=980:*)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2VTZ432?tag=popularmechanics_auto-append-20) ###### Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum Now 43% Off ![Headshot of Elizabeth Rayne](https://hips.hearstapps.com/rover/profile_photos/4e76c835-faea-430d-b35c-1d6bd85f7d11_1727374181.file?fill=1:1&resize=120:*) Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.

ML Classification

ML Categories

/Science		97.1%
/Science/Astronomy		94.5%

Raw JSON

{
    "/Science": 971,
    "/Science/Astronomy": 945
}

ML Page Types

/Article		99.6%
/Article/Story		52.4%

Raw JSON

{
    "/Article": 996,
    "/Article/Story": 524
}

ML Intent Types

Informational

99.9%

Raw JSON

{
    "Informational": 999
}

Content Metadata

Language

en-us

Author

Elizabeth Rayne

Publish Time

2026-02-27 13:55:00 (1 month ago)

Original Publish Time

2026-02-27 13:55:00 (1 month ago)

Republished

Word Count (Total)

1,312

Word Count (Content)

899

Links

External Links

Internal Links

Technical SEO

Meta Nofollow

Meta Noarchive

Yes

JS Rendered

Redirect Target

null

Performance

Download Time (ms)

2,836

TTFB (ms)

2,813

Download Size (bytes)

143,402

Shard

162 (laksa)

Root Hash

11125021743305196162

Unparsed URL

com,popularmechanics!www,/space/a70532581/black-hole-mission-science/ s443