The author Arthur C. Clarke described the construction of a space elevator in his 1979 novel, The Fountains of Paradise. In more recent years, a space elevator looks like becoming a reality, as a firm called the LiftPort Group, founded by a former NASA researcher, Michael Laine, claim they will be able to build one to the moon by 2020.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky first came up with the idea for a space elevator in 1895, inspired by the Eiffel Tower. Many have offered ideas, calculations and speculations about how such an elevator would work. But the good news is that, as the Moon's surface gravity is much lower than the Earth's, the lunar elevator system can be engineered using currently available materials and technology. Google, supposedly, is even in on the act, working on space elevators at their secretive Google X Lab, as well as other future technologies.
In September 2018, researchers at Japan’s Shizuoka University launched a tiny space elevator on an H-2B rocket from the island of Tanegashima, about the size of two matchboxes. Cameras monitored the attempts of the mini elevator to slide up and down a 10-meter cable, suspended in space between two miniature satellites. “It’s going to be the world's first experiment to test elevator movement in space,” a university spokesman said.
The LiftPort group has launched various fundraisers for the project, which is estimated to cost around $800 million. The technology will use a "ribbon" cable anchored to the surface and extending into space. The first step, however, will be to create a 2km elevator on earth, from which the moon elevator will launch.
Imagine taking an elevator to the moon.
Books To Read
Artemis is a 2017 science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. The novel takes place in the late 2080s and is set in Artemis, the first and so far only city on the Moon.
Imagine taking an elevator to the moon.
Books To Read
Artemis is a 2017 science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. The novel takes place in the late 2080s and is set in Artemis, the first and so far only city on the Moon.
