Protect the planet from solar radiation thanks to moon dust sent directly into space, this is the idea of a team of researchers who published their study last Wednesday, February 8 in the journal PLOS Climate. In reality, this is not an innovative idea. Projects already exist and propose to use sulfur or calcium carbonate.
The difference between these projects and this recent study is that this lunar dust will not be not sent into the earth’s atmosphere but into space, between the earth and the sun. Researchers recommend shipping annually 10 million tons of lunar dust. It would form a kind of “umbrella”, 940 km parasol2 of diameter.
The annual sending of 10 million tons of lunar dust into space would constitute an “umbrella” which would reduce solar radiation. https://t.co/amf3eX1tMD
The Point (@ThePoint) February 9, 2023
According to their calculations, custom-made parasol would play the role of a protective screen and would decrease the sun’s radiation by 1.8%, which corresponds to a 6 day solar eclipse per yearas revealed by the media LePoint. By reducing solar radiation, scientists believe limit the consequences of global warming.
The researchers have considered several scenarios. The lead author of the study, Benjamin Bromley, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Utah in the United States, explains that the dust will have to be sent from the Moon in a Lagrange point between the Earth and the Sun, i.e. the place where any object remains more or less still.
The advantage of the Lagrange point, it is very far from earth therefore no atmospheric chemical disturbance possible due to dust. Being outside the Earth’s atmosphere, the moon dust will not be able to trap infrared radiationemitted by the earth’s surface, another advantage for this method compared to previous projects.
Climate: researchers suggest using moon dust to protect us from the sun https://t.co/h3HEP9APB6 pic.twitter.com/XiQojbfMwB
BFMTV (@BFMTV) February 9, 2023
Why use moon dust? Several reasons for this, the lunar dust is perfectly suited for this role. It is also a abundant resource on the moon as the team explains: “We have identified orbits that allow dust grains to provide shade For days”.
And why send it from the moon? Quite simply for an economic matter. The lunar gravity being less than Earth’s gravity,sending 10 million tons of dust into space would be much less energy-intensive than a launch from Earth. This project is for the moment only a theory which is not yet feasible.
The scientists admit that they are not “climate change or aerospace engineering experts”. They don’t study that the solutions to limit the rise in temperatures but do not focus on their feasibility. In addition, the UN recently launched the alert on the fact of such technology could have dangerous consequences on the ozone layer.