The recent confirmation of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet called LHS 1140b has created a wave of interest within the astronomy community. The planet orbits within the habitable zone around its parent star – a red dwarf located some 48 light years from Earth.

The habitable zone is the region around the star where temperatures are just right for water to remain liquid at a planet’s surface. Astronomers detected helium being lost from the upper atmosphere of LHS 1140b. But heavier chemical compounds, such as water, which is a key ingredient for life, could exist lower in its atmosphere.

Observing distant exoplanets using telescopes opens new doors for science, but will it ever be possible to travel to these worlds and observe them up close? While this has generally been seen as the stuff of science fiction until now, emerging technologies allow us to imagine a future where such missions are possible in the decades ahead.

There is particular interest in miniaturised spacecraft for interstellar voyages. In large part, this is because it’s easier and cheaper to propel a small spacecraft to another star system – and have it get there within a person’s lifetime – than it is to do the same with a large vehicle.

Miniaturisation of sensors has seen great advances, for example through smart phone technology where highly capable cameras with low mass, power and volume are routinely used. Researchers have even developed “smart dust”; sensors that are millimetre-scale in size or smaller that can detect light, temperature or chemicals.

The space probe........

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