Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: ISS/NASA

And here we thought that the dust on the Moon was a nuisance for future lunar expeditions.

It still is, but Moon dust launched from the lunar surface — or from a space station positioned between Earth and the Sun — could reduce enough solar radiation to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

That’s the proposal from scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of Utah exploring the potential of using dust to shield sunlight.

Simulated stream of dust launched between Earth and the Sun. This dust cloud is shown as it crosses the disk of the Sun, viewed from Earth. Streams like this one, including those launched from the Moon’s surface, can act as a temporary sunshade.
Artwork credit: Ben Bromley/University of Utah

Endless supply

The research paper, published today in the journal PLOS Climate, describes different properties of dust particles, quantities of dust and the orbits that would be best suited for shading Earth.

There’s need for an endless supply of new dust batches to blast into orbit every few days after the initial spray dissipates.

Researchers found that launching dust from Earth to a way station at a Lagrange point between Earth and the Sun would be most effective – but would involve an astronomical price tag and substantial effort.

Lunar dust haunted Apollo moonwalkers. Can that dust offer a way to mitigate climate change on Earth?
Image credit: NASA/Azita Valinia/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Casting a shadow

According to the team, a sunshield’s overall effectiveness would depend on its ability to sustain an orbit that casts a shadow on Earth.

Two scenarios were found to be promising: Use of a space station platform at the L1 Lagrange point and shooting lunar dust from a platform on the surface of the Moon towards the sun.

The team found that the inherent properties of lunar dust were just right to effectively work as a sunshield.

For detailed information on the proposal – “Dust as a solar shield” – go to:

https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000133