Researchers from the University of Aveiro are building a set of satellites that, once placed in orbit over the Moon, aim to capture solar energy and transfer it to a lunar station, to guarantee its operation.
In a statement, the University of Aveiro (UA) said Monday that the project, supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), plans to build a set of satellites which, after being put into orbit around Lusa, can capture solar energy and transfer it to a lunar station to “power all its operations”.
At this time, researchers from the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI), the Department of Physics (DFis), the Institute of Telecommunications, the Institute of Electronic Engineering and Telematics of Aveiro (IEETA) and the Institute of Materials of Aveiro ( CICECO) They are already building the first prototype.
Quoted in the statement, the director of DETI, Nuno Borges de Carvalho, clarifies that the objective is “to energize the future habitable station that will be built on the face of the Moon.”
The researchers will thus build a “modular constellation of satellites” that will orbit the Moon, passing directly over the lunar base.
The plans predict that, in direct sunlight, solar panels attached to satellites will generate electricity “with greater efficiency than the simple solar panels used on Earth today.”
“The energy will be stored in batteries until the satellite is closer to the lunar station. At that time, the energy will be transmitted to the lunar station through antennas and focused by lenses to reduce overflow losses”, adds the researcher, noting that this will be possible “to supply energy to the lunar stations, even during the long lunar night. .
Nuno Borges de Carvalho also highlights that capturing solar energy in space is “much more effective than on Earth”.
“Our atmosphere filters an enormous number of wavelengths, which does not allow us to receive the energy in its entirety,” he points out, recalling that on the Moon, as there is no atmosphere, this problem does not arise.
The researchers also hope that the same satellites will one day be able to send power not only to the lunar station, but also to planet Earth.
Source: Observadora
