Lunar Space Elevator - Possible Uses

Possible Uses

Materials from Earth may be sent into orbit and then down to the Moon to be used by lunar bases and installations.

Former U.S. President George W. Bush, addressing his Vision for Space Exploration, noted that the Moon may serve as a cost-effective construction, launching and fueling site for future space exploration missions. As President Bush announced, "Its soil contains raw materials that might be harvested and processed into rocket fuel or breathable air." For example, future Ares V missions could cost-effectively deliver raw materials from Earth for future spacecraft and missions to a Moon-based space dock positioned as a counterweight to a lunar space elevator, while fuel and breathable air could be shipped up from the Moon's surface to the same Moon-based dock along the same lunar space elevator. As well, the total energy needed for transit between the Moon and Mars is actually much less than between the Moon and Earth, so lunar base activity could make a large impact on building a Mars base. Since millions of tonnes of water ice have been found on the moon's poles, there is a much more accessible form of water than the regolith. The proximity of the polar base on the lunar space elevator to the water ice could make mining the ice far more efficient.

The lunar elevator could also be used to transport supplies and materials from the surface of the moon into the Earth’s orbit and vice versa. According to Jerome Pearson, there are plenty of resources on the moon that would be easier to gather and send into Earth orbit rather than launch from Earth. He claims that one such material which would be very valuable is lunar regolith, also known as moon dirt. One particular use for the regolith would be for massive material to shield space stations or crewed deep space missions against solar flares, Van Allen trapped or cosmic radiation. Other materials such as metals and minerals could be mined and sent up for construction. Silicon for solar cells, as would be needed for the construction of massive satellite solar power stations, seems particularly promising.

One disadvantage of the lunar elevator is that it may not be able to carry human passengers. The rate at which cargo is transferred would be too slow, normally taking weeks to reach its destination. Humans would be able to get there faster by using rockets to and from the moon.