Scientists 3D print microscopic Star Trek spacecraft that moves on its own

© Rachel Doherty and Samia Ouhajji
Scientists have reproduced a microscopic version of the USS Voyager from Star Trek.

A team of physicists from a university in the Netherlands have 3D printed a microscopic version of the USS Voyager, an Intrepid-class Star Trek spacecraft.

The miniature Voyager, which is 15 micrometers (0.015 millimeters) long, is part of a project led by researchers at Leiden University to understand how shape affects the movement and interactions of micro-swimmers.

Micro-swimmers are small particles that can move through fluid on their own, interacting with their environment through chemical reactions. The platinum coating on micro swimmers reacts to a solution of hydrogen peroxide in which they are placed, and which propels them through the liquid.

“By studying synthetic micro-swimmers, we would like to understand biological micro-swimmers,” Samia Ouhajji, one of the study’s authors, told CNN. “This understanding could help develop new drug delivery vehicles; for example, microrobots that swim autonomously and deliver drugs to the desired location in the human body.”

Using a 3D printer, scientists found they could print any shape of micro-swimmers, including boats and spaceships. This helps them distinguish the effect of each shape on the movement of the particles that are swimming.

While most people wouldn’t understand what the USS Voyager has to do with science, Jonas Hoecht, one of the study’s co-authors, had his own reason for reproducing the ship.

“During the last week of his project, I promised him that we could print any shape he wanted,” Ouhajji said. “As a huge Star Trek fan, he chose the USS Voyager. Plus, that was also to show that the type of shapes we can print is almost limitless.”

In their project, the physicists also printed shapes such as boats, trimers and propellers, with the shape of each object affecting their swimming behaviors.

In addition to understanding how micro-swimmers can be used to clean sewage or deliver drugs to the body, the experiment will help scientists learn more about biological swimmers, like sperm and bacteria, and how they get along. move in the body.

© Rachel Doherty and Samia Ouhajji
Star Trek microscopic spaceship.