Volta Space Technologies has announced plans to create a network of solar power satellites around the Moon, SpaceNews reports.
These satellites would collect solar power and send it to spacecraft on the Moon's surface, such as lunar landers and rovers, using lasers. This technology would help these spacecraft work during the Moon's two-week night or in places where sunlight doesn't reach, like deep craters at the Moon's poles.
The company tested sending power with lasers over distances up to 850 meters on Earth. They believe that having at least three satellites can provide enough power for one customer, and they can add more satellites for more customers.
This idea came from a class project at the International Space University and has grown because there's interest in buying power in space, especially for operations where solar panels wouldn't work due to lack of sunlight.
“The customers we were speaking to all had a lot of excitement for the kind of service that we could provide, the capability of lunar night survival and being able to operate in permanently shadowed regions and to buy power on demand, no matter what location you’re at,” said Justin Zipkin, co-founder and CEO of Volta.
A step toward SBSP
Volta's project could make exploring and living on the Moon easier by providing necessary power when other power sources fail or are insufficient.
"Nighttime power source for lunar surface ops!," space expert Greg Autry posted to X. Autry taught the International Space University class from which the project, then called "Eternal Light," emerged.
"As an advisor to the firm from the start, it has been amazing to watch the concept mature and the hardware come together and to see very significant support emerge from both the investment world and the best part of the potential lunar customer base," continued Autry.
This seems a very good idea that could advance both lunar operations and space-based solar power (SBSP) technology, without some of the challenges of SBSP for the Earth.
