The first fleet of robotic spacecraft that humanity launches to explore exoplanets may include a few kamikazes.
The $100 million Breakthrough Starshot initiative is working to develop an interstellar spaceflight system that would use powerful lasers to accelerate tiny, sail-equipped probes to 20 percent the speed of light.
The baseline plan calls for the robotic nanocraft to hunt for signs of life and gather other data during flybys of nearby alien worlds such as Proxima b, a potentially habitable planet located just 4.2 light-years from Earth. But the scientific return would be even greater if some of the 1-gram probes actually slammed into their target worlds, some researchers said. [Breakthrough Starshot in Pictures: Laser-Sailing Nanocraft to Study Alien Planets]
Bull****. ETs will whack these pests with interstellar fly swatters long before they ever reach their intended target. We are not wanted Out There, and for damn good reason. They've long observed what we've done, and continue doing here, on our mother planet. To read more, click here.