At 15 micrometers, this impossibly small, 3D-printed model of the USS Voyager (an Intrepid-class spacecraft) can actually move under its own power. It still can't reach warp speed, though.

The Leiden University research team is testing the microscopic 3D printer (via Gizmodo) on a variety of exotic shapes as part of their work on artificial microswimmers (more on that later). Previously limited to simple spherical shapes, the printer can now print spiral shapes, tugboats, and even a spaceship Voyager, a weird lollypop-like contraption.

In all seriousness, what is that thing in the upper right corner?

You may wonder what an artificial microswimmer is, but essentially it is a microscopic object that can move through a liquid: synthetic "colloidal particles" (solid objects suspended in liquid) created by a 3D printer have no moving parts and move through the liquid by chemical reaction (platinum reacting with hydrogen peroxide) It moves through the liquid by a chemical reaction (platinum reacting with hydrogen peroxide). There is no small impulse engine here.

Among the test objects is one of the best-known 3D benchmark tester objects, the 30-micrometer "Tugboat Benchy. It has many complex shapes and helps identify defects in printers that might otherwise be overlooked. Daniela Kraft, one of the researchers, explains, "The 3D Benchy is a structure designed to test macroscopic 3D printers and has some challenging features, so it was natural to try it at the micrometer scale as well"

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Kraft also admits that "building a swimming micrometer-sized boat is fun." And while it may seem like the team is just tinkering with a novel and puny 3D printer, their work will ultimately contribute to our understanding of biological micro-swimming bodies such as sperm, bacteria, and white blood cells.

According to an entry in Soft Matter, their conclusion so far is that "3D microprinting overcomes current limitations in the manufacture of active microswimmers with complex shapes and controlled patch positioning."

So basically, the amazing scientific finding from this achievement is that it is entirely possible to micro-3D print funky objects. Nevertheless, look at that spaceship.