--- title: "Scientist Says Dark Matter Could Likely Be Incredible Fuel for Spacecraft" description: "If we ever learn to interact with dark matter, the possibilities could be extraordinary." date: "2022-03-15" modified: "2022-03-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/dark-matter-spacecraft-fuel" categories: - "Astrophysics" - "Dark Matter" - "Space" tags: - "dark matter" - "interstellar probe" - "spacecraft" - "the digest" --- # Scientist Says Dark Matter Could Likely Be Incredible Fuel for Spacecraft ![With so much unknown about the mysterious substance scientists call "dark matter," the possibility for discoveries and uses are endless — and could very well include a new energy source.]() *\Image: Image via Pixabay/Futurism\* ## Into the Black The mysterious stuff scientists call "dark matter" remains an immense mystery. But if we ever learn to interact with it, the possibilities could be extraordinary — and could very well include a civilization-shifting new energy source. In [a new interview with Futurism]() about a proposed NASA mission to study the invisible substance, Yeshiva University's Ed Belbruno — the coauthor of a [recent study]() and one of the architects of the proposal — described, among other things, the potential for dark matter to be used as fuel for space travel. "It's anyone's guess what you can do with it, once we find out what it is," the mathematician told us. "My guess is, because it causes light to deflect when you're looking at other galaxies, that it's a pretty potent material, and it can be used as an energy source, probably." ## Long and Winding Road As Belbruno told Futurism, "no one knows" what makes up dark matter — and as such, there's no way to say, yet, what exactly it can do. While the concept of harnessing dark matter or even accounting for it in calculations the way sailors do for the pull of tides is *very awesome*, there is one major caveat: it could take a long time to get there. "How we would focus that energy source would maybe be hundreds of years or thousands of years away," Belbruno said. "But if you could focus it, you would have an unlimited supply of energy in outer space to power spacecraft, and this would just be absolutely beyond what we could imagine at the moment, what you could do something like that." "My guess is that the potential material that dark matter is made of would revolutionize our understanding of science," he added, "and may very well allow us to make star drives, which could be used in spacecraft that could that could traverse interstellar distances." **READ MORE:** [*Inside NASA’s Bold Proposal to Probe the Mysteries of Dark Matter*]() **More on the dark matter mission:** [*NASA Proposes Sending Spacecraft to Measure Mysterious Dark Matter*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()