NEW DELHI (PTI): Scientists plan to harvest solar energy on the lunar surface and beam it to earth, in a fantastic proposal aimed at turning the moon into a giant power Station for earth.
Under the proposal, thousands of solar cells will capture solar Energy uninterrupted on the moon, and beam into receiving antennas on earth where the energy will be fed into power distribution systems.
A group of scientists in the US have set up a Lunar Solar Power (LSP) coalition to promote LSP related studies, a report in the space Research journal “earth space review” said.
Power consumption on earth is set to double from 10,000 gigaWats in 1980 to 20,000 gigaWats by the year 2050. LSP offers a maximum power level five times higher —100,000 gigaWats, the report said.
Some scientists believe only lunar solar power can provide the required amount of energy in an affordable manner, while avoiding the environmental and ecological damage of existing power schemes.
The LSP concept has several advantages over existing energy Options, including bio resources, nuclear power, conventional fossil fuels and Sterrestrial solar energy, according to the “earth space review” report.
Solar energy can be provided efficiently and safely at low cost from solar power bases on the moon, according (o the report written by space and aeronautics experts David Crisswell and Philip Harris.
“it could establish a two planet economy between the earth and moon, solve carth’s impending Natural energy resources shortage, and act as a stepping stone for more extensive space exploration.” they said. The goal of LSP would be to establish 20,000 gigaWats capacities by the year 2040. Scientists believe a technological venture of this magnitude is likely to benefit through international participation.
The majority of the project investment will be for the construction and maintenance of the antennas on earth that will capture the lunar transmitted solar energy and convert them into electric power. ‘The antennas are expected to cost only 10% unit capacity of a similarly sized coal fired electric plant, Crisswell and Harris said in their report.
Crisswell, director of the institute of space systems operations at the University of Houston, is one of the developers of the LSP concept. Harris is associate fellow of the American institute of aeronautics and astronautics.
Analyses reveal that LSP requires far less resources and land than arrays on earth where solar radiation is irregular, interrupted by clouds, seasons, and atmosphere.
Lunar solar power systems use lunar resources to construct large arrays of solar collectors on the surface of the moon. The project might require establishing a lunar base housing up to 4000 inhabitants. A lunar power system coalition setup three years ago by scientists and engineers is now drawing up research proposals for LSP related research studies and sponsors and collaborators are being sought.
The LSP bases will be constructed in pairs on the opposite sides of the moon, each consists of thousands of plots covered by vast arrays of Solar cells collecting solar energy.
The solar energy will be converted into low intensity microwave means that will be brought to earth via a network of reflector antennas on the moon and receiving antennas on earth.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 18, 1993
