April 2024
The promise of space-based LiDAR
...of the electromagnetic spectrum. Historically, LiDAR technology has been employed on aircraft or ground-based platforms, using laser pulses to measure distances with extreme precision. This approach creates detailed, real-time, three-dimensional maps...
April 2024
Terraformal dreaming
..., or paint them with black soot, or cover them with lichens, or blast them with solar-powered space lasers… or, if Musk has his way, ‘nuke’ them with ten thousand missiles. Either way, planetary scientist Christopher...
April 2024
The promise of solar energy for sustainable development and space exploration
... possible range of options for transmitting energy safely and efficiently. These include radio frequency transmission and lasers for Space-Based Solar Power and simple reflection of sunlight to Earth-based solar farms. The goal...
March 2026
Humanity – the potential of space
... theory, large solar arrays in orbit could collect sunlight and beam energy back to Earth using microwaves or lasers. Unlike terrestrial solar farms, space-based panels receive continuous sunlight, unaffected by night cycles, weather, or atmospheric...
April 2026
Robotics is the future of space labour
...distance teleoperation, and it is now possible to remotely operate robots better than ever. The rollout of optical, laser-based communication networks in low Earth orbit, namely Starlink, has reduced latency to mere tens of milliseconds. Historically...
May 2026
Satellite brightness and the mitigation challenge
..., because orbital predictions were updated multiple times a day. However, the visors blocked the optical paths of laser inter-satellite links, so they had to go. SpaceX also cited their increased atmospheric drag. As a result, post-VisorSat...
