Futuristic Moon Elevator Idea Takes Aim at Lunar Lifts

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Futuristic Moon Elevator Idea Takes Aim at Lunar Lifts.

An elevator to the moon might not be as crazy as it sounds.
A moon-based elevator to space could radically reduce the costs and improve the reliability of placing equipment on the lunar surface. Such a lunar elevator would make the transport of supplies and materials from the surface of the moon into the Earth's orbit and vice versa possible. Indeed, valuable resources could be extracted from the moon, then sent into Earth orbit more easily than if they were rocketed from the Earth's surface. You can see a video of how a moon elevator to space might work on Space.com.
It's no pie in the sky project according to the LiftPort Group of Seattle, Wash. A LiftPort strategic framework calls for establishing an operational Lunar Space Elevator Infrastructure (LSEI). The project would involve commercial, off-the-shelf technology, a Sputnik-like simplicity and a single heavy-lift launch solution. [21 Most Marvelous Moon Missions Ever]
Infrastructure
LiftPort's concept for building the lunar space elevator infrastructure calls for using a climbing vehicle that scoots up and down a ribbon-shaped, tethered cable that's part of an anchor station secured to the airless moon.
A lunar elevator provides value by making soft landings on the moon possible.
The group envisions a rocket launched from Earth to a Lagrange Point PicoGravity Lab, where cargo is transferred to the robotic lifter and gently delivered to the moon's surface.
Once fully functioning, the lunar elevator could soft-land equipment and people on the moon's landscape. Using forecast models, backers of the LSEI see transport of three-dozen people to the moon per year as attainable in the early years of the elevator's operation.
Steady progress
"We're making steady progress," said Michael Laine, president of the LiftPort Group.
"I think the moon has gotten a lot of new attention in the last year," Laine told Space.com. He has been encouraged by NASA's newly announced Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) program, which is intended to spur commercial cargo transportation capabilities to the surface of the moon.
Moreover, funds from a recent Kickstarter campaign have enabled LiftPort to focus on the lunar elevator idea, Laine said.
Still, Liftport sees challenges, as summarized in Laine's credo on the group's website: "There is a profound difference between difficult, very, very hard, and impossible."
On the very, very hard side of things, Laine also has his eyes on a more ambitious project. "Of course, we also plan an elevator on the Earth and Mars, but that's going to take a little longer," Laine said.
Challenges ahead
One would think that spotting a space elevator here on Earth is hard enough, never mind the moon.
"The prospects for the Earth space elevator are brighter now ... but there are challenges remaining," said Jerome Pearson, president of STAR, Inc., based in Mount Pleasant, S.C. He is an early originator and supporter of space elevator concepts. [Moon Master: An Easy Quiz for Lunatics]
Pearson said that the tough-to-do challenge list includes at least a few items: producing the vast quantities of high-strength carbon nanotube composites required; the dynamics of the 100,000-km-long structure; and the problems of debris in low Earth orbit that could destroy the space elevator ribbon.
Pearson's ElectroDynamic Debris Eliminator (EDDE) project aims to do something about the space debris. He believes the EDDE, a maneuvering spacecraft, could remove all the dangerous debris — over 10 centimeters (4 inches) in diameter — from low-Earth orbit by about 10 to 15 years from now.
But the long and short of it, Pearson said, is that engineers need to understand the dynamics of such lengthy structures before they can risk building the Earth space elevator. "And that is one of the drivers for the lunar space elevator," he told Space.com.


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