# \[Interview\] Punching NanoHoles in Light Sails Can Bring Us Closer to Alpha Centauri

An episode of [Universe Today Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/794058155), 2 Jun 2025, 32 min.

Audio: https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/139665831/68445b4a879b463181aa3f110682bab6/eyJhIjoxLCJpc19hdWRpbyI6MSwicCI6MX0%3D/1.mp3?token-hash=xHxxXXMwAZV6VJDuOzHn_LyYpWff7ld05z5dDldpwpY%3D&token-time=1794441600

Launching Breakthrough Starshot light sail probes to Alpha Centauri requires a lot of new tech, including the actual light sails. How do you make the optimal material to maximize the size with minimising mass? Finding out in this interview. 😍 \[Interview+\] Same video. No YT ads. https://www.patreon.com/universetoday 🟣 Guest: Lucas Norder https://www.tudelft.nl/en/staff/l.norder/ 📜 Pentagonal photonic crystal mirrors: scalable lightsails with enhanced acceleration via neural topology optimization https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57749-y • 00:00 Intro • 02:11 Current state of tech • 04:58 Nano-holes in reflective material • 11:08 Manufacturing techniques • 14:23 Practical applications • 20:58 Possible prototypes • 25:57 Current obsessions • 30:21 Final thoughts 📺 VIDEO VERSION https://youtu.be/iHLm9oHMsyM 📰 GUIDE TO SPACE Newsletter No ads. Subscribe for FREE: https://universetoday.com/newsletter 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: https://universetoday.fireside.fm/ Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/ 📩 CONTACT FRASER frasercain@gmail.com ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Support Universe Today Podcast

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