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The team is now working to enhance the performance and integration of the system, with a long-term goal of installing it on a spaceborne platform such as a small satellite.

The spaceborne testbed demonstrated the ability to beam power wirelessly in space; it measured the efficiency, durability, and function of a variety of different types of solar cells in space; and gave a real-world trial of the design of a lightweight deployable structure to deliver and hold the aforementioned solar cells and power transmitters.

Co-author and Senior Research Fellow Dr Moritz Merklein said: "This work paves the way for a new generation of compact, high-resolution RF photonic filters with wideband frequency tunability, particularly beneficial in air and spaceborne RF communication payloads, opening possibilities for enhanced communications and sensing capabilities."

Instead, astrophysicists believe the best defense is to knock asteroids off course long before they make their final approach, like a spaceborne billiards game yet with higher stakes.

Scientists have recognized the potential of spaceborne hyperspectral imaging since the 1980s, but new missions were scarce.