Vast array of tiny antennas could talk to spacecraft

[Tormod]

The same technology found in Bluetooth headset or wireless LAN could be used to build a cheap, powerful transmitter for communicating with deep space probes. It could even illuminate planets and asteroids for radar astronomy.

 

The proposal is to build an array of millions of small antennas printed on circuit boards, just like the antennas in consumer electronics such as wireless headsets and GPS receivers. By controlling the phase of all of the antennas individually, a computer will be able to aim a powerful beam of radiation at a target, with no moving parts required.

 

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