A study published by two graduate students in September 2019 has a growing number of scientists and space-technology enthusiasts excited about creating a giant elevator that connects the Earth and Moon to supply cargo up and down, all this by using current technology which is easily available. The monumental structure, if made, will be a wonder to mankind and a giant step into space technology.
So here's how this works!
A giant elevator or a ''climber'' would be built to withstand all kinds of temperature and would extend all the way from Earth to Moon. The elevator would be used to transport cargo and other materials to the Moon in an easy, affordable and sustainable way. The structure would be built on Earth and Moons's satellite-level orbit and experts say the structure can be built with current technology.
The basic design of the space elevator involves a cable or "tether," that stretches from an anchor on the ground in Earth to a counterweight in space which is the Moon. A climber would travel up and down the tether carrying cargo to the geostationary orbit. In full length, the tether would be like a string and the counterweight would be like the stone.
A few space-exploration companies from China and Japan have already tested miniature prototypes of the giant elevator that would reach space and hope that the structure can be built by 2045 and 2050. There are still many more details to plan out though, including how to build the monumental structure that would withstand severe heat and gravity.
Michael Laine, president of space-elevator development company reported to Business Insider, "They're right, and we were right first, that the lunar elevator is feasible technology." Tyler Harris, an engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory said, "The space elevator would essentially be an economic game-changer for the space industry."
Obayashi Corporation, a Japanese firm estimates that the cost of the giant elevator to space would cost $90 billion in estimate and revealed that it wants to build the structure by 2050.
NASA has also funded research on space elevators previously, but did not commit to building one.
