This is a problem for the Breakthrough Starshot project, which aims to launch a laser powered nanocraft that travels at 1/5th the speed of light. That project hopes to reach the next solar system over in about 20 years. "Erosion of solid surfaces will be a severe problem at these speeds," says Ian Crawford of Birkbeck, University of London. "It's possible that the wafersats won't even be able to complete the journey."

For engineers, this isn't news -- NASA and other space agencies have been combating space debris for decades -- but it does mean that teams need to think of new ways to protect fast moving crafts. The faster a craft goes, the more dangerous tiny objects can be. At the speed Breakthrough Starshot is designed to reach, even microscopic space dust could be dangerous.