Placing a massive engine on the moon has long been a dream of space exploration enthusiasts. This will open up many possibilities for exploring our solar system and the possibility of life in space.

In his study on the giant cylinders that bear his name today, Gerard O’Neill mentioned the use of the lunar mass as a material source in their creation. We have yet to see such an engineering marvel in the real world, but the more research is done on the subject, the more real avenues open up for its potential application.

One of the most recent contributions to this effort is a self-published study published on the arXiv preprint server by Pekka Janhunen of the Finnish Meteorological Institute and space propulsion systems manufacturer Aurora Propulsion Technologies. It details how we can use the properties of the moon’s gravity to send passive cargo into lunar orbit with a mass thruster, where it can then be picked up by active, high-throughput systems and sent for processing elsewhere in the solar system.

Anomalies in the Moon’s gravitational field have been known for a long time. These are generally seen as an annoyance to be avoided by mission planners because they can cause satellite orbits to deteriorate faster than nice, simple models predict. However, Dr. According to Janhunen, these can be helpful rather than a hindrance.

Typical usage patterns for lunar mass boosters focus on active or passive payloads launched into lunar orbit. Active payloads need some type of onboard propulsion system to get them to their destination. As a result, these cargos require more active technologies and some form of fuel, reducing the total amount of fuel available in other parts of the solar system.

Passive payloads, on the other hand, tend to land on the Moon in one of two scenarios. They either complete an orbit around the Moon in about a day and then leave orbit and return to the Moon’s surface, or they enter a highly random orbit and essentially become space debris of the Moon. Neither of these solutions would be sustainable for significant mass transfer from the lunar surface.

However, Dr. Janhunen may have found a solution. Examined known lunar gravity anomalies detected by GRAIL. This satellite mapped the moon’s gravity in detail and found several locations on the lunar surface where a massive engine could launch a passive payload into an orbit that would potentially last up to nine days.

These areas are located along mountains, and three of them are on the Earth-facing side of the Moon’s surface. It is important that they all have their own unique gravitational properties.

More time in orbit would mean more time for the active tug to capture passive lunar cargo and deliver it to a processing station, such as the space station at L5 between the Earth and the Moon. This active tug is reusable, has a highly efficient electric propulsion system designed and built on Earth, and will only need to be launched once.

All that is needed to power the system is a massive engine that can accelerate the payload to lunar orbital speeds of about 1.7 km/s. Creating this with current technology is within our ability, but it would require a massive engineering effort that goes far beyond what we have created in space so far.

But every study that shows the potential benefit or cost reduction of using our nearest neighbor’s resources to expand our reach in the solar system brings us one step closer to making this a reality.