Down to Earth Rocket Science
Down to Earth Rocket Science
A solar energy collection and transmission station to transmit solar energy to Earth from the Moon via microwave is feasible to build today.
Fossil fuels are extracted from Earth in a way that can be likened to squeezing a sponge. The fossil fuel era has a relatively short lifespan. The sponge will not be reloaded for our species. However, a relatively immortal energy industry that will dwarf that of oil and gas is on its way.
The Johnson Space Center (JSC), Glenn Research Center (GRC), and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are a logical team to manage space based solar power station design and robotic construction. All NASA centers and other agencies, institutions, and companies have at least some potential role. Unlimited energy without a carbon footprint is as close or far away as the level of effort to go build it - to make it happen.
Basic research into the feasibility of constructing a lunar solar power station and other space facilities has been done from the builder's viewpoint. Other key viewpoints are being studied.
The lessons learned can be summed up as follows: Space based construction site workers at all levels must adapt and resolve issues on the fly at any time. A solar facility capable of supplying Earth's energy would likely consist of an enormous number of identical structures conducive to robotic construction. Thus, the construction crew would operate and maintain robotics. There will be an array of crew operated machinery that may at least function similar to Earth based counterparts. Countless patents will emerge.
Extracting and burning fossil fuels because they're abundant and it's profitable to do so isn't quite analogous to selling and using tobacco because we need energy for travel and electricity. However, our suns' energy has been relatively unlimited for over four billion years and will go on being so for billions more. It's abundance relative to Earth's total needs is now within our reach - right over our heads.
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