A Space Elevator on the Moon, made of mundane materials, could be built with modern technology, and allow ultra-cheap freight off the Moon.
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Credits:
Lunar Space Elevator
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Episode 406, August 3, 2023
Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur
Editors:
David McFarlane
Graphics by:
Aryeh Yakov Katz
Ian Long LITE
Ken York YD Visual
Mafic Studios
Mike Munt Apogii.uk
Phil Swan
Sergio Botero
Udo Schroeter
Music Courtesy of:
Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator
Markus Junnikkala, “Plotting a Course”, “We Roam the Stars”
Stellardrone, “Red Giant”, “Between the Rings”
Miguel Johsnon, “Far From Home”, “So Many Stars”
source
https://youtu.be/tIrUn70F9mM
A skyhook probably won't work on the moon due to gravitational anomalies on its surface preventing a stable orbit.
Its like they said "How are we getting into space?" And the answer was 'trucks'. Cause we used trucks, uh rockets. Those things for fireworks? Yes that's exactly what we used! So, now elevators.
I prefer the term selenosynchronous over lunosynchronous.
Could you catch an aluminium spacecraft on lunar elevator with a magnet? Similar to the trick where you try swing an aluminium sheet through a horse show magnet which makes it stop.
I just want to check on the general feelings here about the recent Senate hearings about how there are lots of aliens now. I still hold the position that it would be far too big a thing to hide, that alien visitors would be either unobserved, or would present themselves absolutely unambiguously.
I have a very hard time imagining a scenario where they would boop out right next to military aircraft, and bend over corn in cool patterns, but not send an unambiguous greeting.
On the other hand . . . I'd like there to be plenty of aliens. That would be neat.
What are the thoughts of my dear friends at SFIA?
I'm not a fan of lunar space elevators (rotovators make more sense, IMO), however you missed one of the lunar space elevator's party tricks: If you extend beyond L1 much more than is required for counter-weight, you can extend all the way into low Earth orbit. The "orbital" velocity, given the 29 day period, is tiny, allowing it to work in much the same way as the lower tip of a static orbital tether. Rockets from Earth require an order-of-magnitude less energy to dock with the tether-tip, compared to going into a proper orbit.
There's a limit to how close you can get, since the moon's orbit is not circular, so the lower tip will drift closer and further from Earth each month. But theoretically, you could even use that to dip into the Earth's atmosphere once a month.
Could you make a bridge connecting the surface of the Moon to an orbital ring around the Earth?
Can we do a lunar landing pad episode?
A space elevator O’Neil cylinder
The more i think about it, it seems Mars should be very secondary to a lunar base in many ways. It seems like we have a much better chance of getting a lunar base up and running thrn moving out to mars and the Jovian moons.
I like those space catapults that use a cylindrical swing arm that ratchet up and then baseball pitches junk into space.
I have nebula. lucky me.
What’s orth?
Hi Isaac!
I still think an orbital ring (or many) around the Moon will ultimately be the best option, especially if we want to standardize launch systems for any kind of body. But skyhooks, elevators, and launch tracks will be good first steps.
If the Earth only spun more quickly!
Dont worry about the cost, auctioning off the Advertisement space on the moons surface will pay for it.
Could get pretty high in one of those.
What about a space station that constantly orbits earth AND the Moon? Then low earth (or moon) orbit can connect for the transfer.
I thought the moon was geocentrically locked and that it does not rotate
NO NO NO NO, a rail launcher is more suitable, so there
If you just realized there are 16 shorts posted ,Raise your hand 🙋♂️
have you though about intelligent dwarf civilizations like the size of bugs and how they would interact with larger intelligent species
nice
Mass drivers make much more sense when "started" underground.. sloping chord tunnels where one can fall in on one side, accelerate even using the meager moon g but with added electromagnetic punch of the giant railgun and come out the other side at many times the escape velocity.. maintaining superconductivity shouldn't be a problem, so the whole thing could be accelerated like a magnetic sled quantum locked to the rails.. That boring machine of Elon's is one of the first things that needs to go to the moon, if in a atomic powered mini footprint that would fit on Starship..
The mass driver would be first, because a killer ap for the Moon industrial park is volatiles for propellant and life support and construction materials for cislunar infrastructure, and you can build gobs of them for the price of a skyhook or space elevator, especially if you're trying to build the orbital stuff out of pre-mass-driver priced material.
The mass driver makes elevators and skyhooks cheaper, so that's how you would bootstrap things:
1. ISRU extraction (volatiles for propellant, life support; agregate for mooncrete/moonmortar, moonbrick; metals, etc.
2. Start churning out mass drivers.
3. Use mostly Moon materials to build a rotating skyhook for Earth in the Lunar orbital plane.
4. Close the inner loop with an Earth-Moon L1 space elevator, mostly for traffic down to the Moon's surface.
5. Close the outer loop with an Earth-Moon L2 space elevator, mostly for traffic to the cislunar system from the rest of the Solar System. (You launch outbound traffic from mass drivers.)
Of course, You'd be doing other things with the Lunar mining, manufacturing, fabrication, and construction in the meantime, but we're discussing transportation infrastructure on the Moon. The Moon becomes the rail and industrial hub.
Have you looked at the chain system at the end of Seven Eves?
I think this is the only way to colonize the moon. The moon rings like a bell and has major earthquakes when apollo landers land and take off. The moon will be unlivable with thousands of vehicles taking off and landing all the time. Nobody is going to live on the world of perpetual earthquakes. Lunar space elevators don't shake the moon. when people and their stuff come and go.
We don't really have the ability or functional concept to build a space elevator. What would support it between bouyant atmosphere and outer atmosphere? By the time we will be capable of it we will be well beyond the need for it.
The idea behind it is good but only the idea.
Instead the space tower is a good idea because you could build a giant low inertia catapult stretching miles beneath the surface all the way to thousands of feet up. Architecturally the space tower could be made today. It would require a massive coil gun or rail gun design and will require multiple power plants based on the size of it all. You can alter speed based on weather conditions.
Building vessels that can safely reenter atomsphere then be launched "quickly" back into orbit is the way to go. You can also launch unmanned cargo pods to be picked up by vessels or satelites in orbit. The cargo can be launched faster and heavier. A rocket guided spacehook off of a space station combined with the tower catapult could act as a safety net.
Computers will control the speed based on the numbers we already understand we need to reach to escape velocity.
There will need to be a limited entry/clear zone that the catapult launches to to prevent colissions. Satelites will need to avoid and manuever around these zones. We will also need nets to catch as much debris as possible around these zones. The space station idea is a clear solution.
Space travel would be like waiting at an airport for you flight until the LZ in orbit is clear enough to make.
All in all we need to solve the human problem before we build a mass use space entry device. People can't survive in space for very long.
oh i thought this was about an elevator to the moon lol still good tho
Holy fuck!!!! Isaac!! My brain is gone. I hear you talking in reverse!!!!
Am I losing my mind??
I Will restart my phone!!
2:24 – I wish people would use relative numbers, rather than exact like this … This gives me no no idea, and only overwhelms my brain … something like X is 3.4 times the lunar speed, and 8 times the length …. etc. (made up numbers) – That would be much more insightful!
– I wish everyone well.
Could pulleys be replaced inside elevators in buildings with pressure and magnetism so if it breaks the elevator has a slow decent inside a skyscraper
Brilliant and the excellent visuals help morons like me understand the concepts faster thank you ! Great job as always ❤