BUMBLEBEES TO MARS
A Los Alamos scientist says the "smaller, faster, cheaper"
approach to space exploration could benefit by taking a
tip from the animal world, where smaller critters devote
proportionally less mass to their structural needs. An
elephant, for example, requires a big, heavy skeleton
whereas a bumblebee does not. "Large spacecraft pay a
high overhead for structural mass, which is essentially
dead weight," says Bob Hockaday. He suggests that by
taking advantage of progress in microengineering and
shrinking computer chips, scientists could build tiny,
single-purpose spacecraft that could "peel out like a
dragster" and make the trip to Mars in weeks. Although
each craft could carry out but a small function, acting in
concert the fleet could fulfill an important mission, such
as scouting the asteroid belt or outer planets.  Hockaday
is exploring design ideas for spacecraft requiring as little
as a gram of mass.
 
 
Yes, but how will they track them for more than 30 meters?
 
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