Feather-light touch all that's needed for Darwin's frictionless optics   The inner moving part of the Optical Delay Line (where all the optical components are located) is suspended in a free floating manner by means of magnetic levitation. Minor exerted forces like the touch of a feather or light human breath cause this moving part to displace away from its central position.   One of Darwin's telescopes, due to be part of a flotilla of four or five free-flying spacecraft. Precise movement using magnetic levitation     Darwin will combine light from four or five telescopes and send it down to Earth. ESA has a strategy to enable more sophisticated searches for extra-solar planets in the future. Two planned developments rely on combining the light from a number of different telescopes. Both could greatly benefit from this technology. Sub-nanometre resolution to be incorporated in future flight mechanism     Overview of the Optical Delay Line with the outer fixed structure holding the active parts for magnetic levitation and axial motion, and the inner moving structure that includes the optical components. Thanks to magnetic levitation, accurate displacements of a few nanometres have been achieved during testing. Release date: 12 April 2007