Here's the concept: Unmanned space probes might use laser beam technology to catch tiny particles several meters away and pull them into the probe for analysis.
Technically, the idea isn't called a "tractor beam" - scientists know it as "optical trapping." Its beginnings date back to the 1970s, according to NASA's Paul Stysley and Barry Coyle. They, along with colleague Demetrios Poulios, have been given $100,000 to begin the first phase toward developing the technology.
The project started when Stysley, Coyle and Poulios heard that scientists had successfully manipulated laser beams to pull particles back in the direction of a laser beam. "It caught our attention," said Coyle.
The technology might help NASA reduce risk to its missions. For example, a NASA satellite equipped with a tractor beam could study a comet without flying dangerously close. "You could follow your target and, from a distance, bring in those particles," said Stysley. "It's less risky than landing on the comet or flying through a stream of stuff that could damage the satellite."
