A tiny, artificial solar system could prove the existence of hidden spatial dimensions and alternative theories of gravity. There are many theories attempting to unify all the forces of physics into one cohesive model which requires the existence of hidden spatial dimensions. According to some, gravity leaks into extra dimensions diluting its power in a 3D unviverse and causing abberations from the standard law of gravity. While this would be noticeable at very small scales, scientists have not been able to accurately measure the force of gravity between closely spaced objects in the lab .

One way of detecting the presence of the hidden dimensions according to Varun Sahni of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in India, is to send a "solar system in a can" into space. The artificial system would be kept inside a spacecraft about four times as far away from Earth as the Moon known as the Lagrange point.

At the Lagrange point, the artificial solar system would be set in motion inside the spacecraft. A test sphere smaller than the 8-centimetre-wide tungsten sphere (the "sun") will be launched in an oval-shaped orbit 10 cm away. The mini planet would orbit its tungsten sun 3,000 times per year. If the test sphere's movement, changed slightly differently than expected from standard gravity, it could be an indication that gravity is leaking into extra dimensions.

The artificial solar system could also be used to test an alternative theory of gravity, called Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). Acording MOND, gravity starts diverging from Einstein's theory below a certain acceleration. Sahni's team says by placing one or more planets in orbits larger than the one at 10 cm, the slight extra strength of gravity at those larger orbits should make the planets there move faster than predicted under general relativity if the MOND theory holds.

Executing the mini-solar system test is harder than it looks on paper. Cosmic rays, static electricity from charged particles in space, could alter the course of the tiny "planets". Even the spacecraft's components would exert gravitational forces on the spheres. To minimize the effect of these unwanted forces, spacecraft carrying the mini-solar system should be as symmetrical as possible with its heaviest components placed as far from the artificial star system as possible. Although challenging, the experiment was described as not technologically impossible.