This satellite made on the Moon will be able to power the Earth, and here’s how

A satellite built on the Moon with materials found there to provide solar energy to the Earth. The project looks worthy of a science fiction novel, but it is very serious. The space station will initially power operations on the Moon, before powering our home planet.

you know the Solaris Project ? It was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA). Solar energy recovery directly from space, from the satellites and space stations created for the occasion. The goal, of course, is to send everything back to Earth to power our cities and infrastructures. It looks like science fiction stories like this. However, it is more feasible than it seems. Swiss society Astrostromassociated with the project, wants to build the “Grand Earth-Lunar Power Station”, or GE⊕-LPSwhich can be translated as “A large power station on the moon“.

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Hidden behind this name is a new type of satellite, inspired by the shape of a butterfly, and equipped with Solar panels in the shape of a “V” covering an area of ​​more than a square kilometer. most surprisingly, It will be made on the Moon from the raw materials found there. Astrostrom’s feasibility study shows that the technologies needed for the project are already on the ground. The European Space Agency says adapting it to the lunar environment and controlling everything from Earth is within the realm of possibility.

A satellite made on the moon to provide energy to the earth

Once built, GE⊕-LPS will be located at a Lagrange point 61,350 km from the Moon. A Lagrangian point is a stable place around a planet’s orbit. The idea is that the station first provides lunar activities, to on-site science teams for example, and then the Earth itself. The transmitted power is estimated at 23 megawatts Constants. That’s just over twice the electrical capacity of the Solar One solar power plant in the United States, which is the second largest in the world.

Surprisingly, the European Space Agency noticed this It would be cheaper to build such a device on the Moon than on Earth. Better: Earth-generated power will not be more expensive than any Earth-based alternative. Based on these findings, the European Space Agency is already envisioning an artificial ecosystem on and in orbit on the Moon. who knows ? Maybe one day this space force will traverse from SpaceX’s own station.

source : European Space Agency