Something like this could even grab samples from the next ‘Oumuamua if it hangs out in its orbit for an extended period of time and moves fast enough. NASA JPL astrophysicist Slava Turyshev, UCLA aerospace engineer Artur Davoyan, and their team of researchers recently published a new study detailing the concept of such an interceptor, a concept funded by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. “We realized that the only propulsion technology that can take us to an ideal region for detecting interstellar objects is solar sailing,” Turyshev tells SYFY WIRE. “Nuclear fission and fusion technologies are not mature enough yet, but with currently available sail materials and spacecraft, we could travel fast and far enough to reach the orbit we want.”