A breakthrough that could enable spacecraft to travel in space for light years. Researchers from U.S. space agency NASA and Korea Institute of Science and Technology have proposed a silicon chip that could automatically self-repair damages through electric current heating.

The chip inside the spacecraft would be powered down every few years during the space journey, activating the transistor to remedy any radiation-induced defects and then power up the chip again. The technology is expected to make the lengthy interstellar space trips feasible, including an ongoing program aiming to launch a flyby mission to the closest star system Alpha Centauri in about 20 years.