The first lunar “lighthouse”

Space technology company Honeybee robotics acquired by Jeff Pesos' Blue Origin in 2022 is developing an interesting idea, a 100m pole that would function as a giant public lighting source for a future base on the moon. The concept is called LUNARSABER which means lunar utility navigation with advanced remote sensors and autonomous transmission for energy redistribution in English, this pole is designed to support a ton of scientific equipment that can assist in communications, distribute energy and even form a mesh network with other similar posts. Although it is still an early-stage concept the company has already received funding from Darpa as part of the 10-year lunar architecture capability study, Vishnu Sanigepalli, principal investigator at Honeybee robotics, explains that this would make power, communications and lighting more very accessible for all payloads on the lunar surface.

To carry a 100 m pole to the moon, Honeybee robotics has developed the Diablo system that can bend a sheet of metal into cylindrical structures. Once deployed, the LUNARSABER will illuminate the surrounding area with reflectors during the long lunar night of two Earth weeks. It would generate energy through solar panels, capturing more sunlight due to its considerable height. Honeybee robotics estimates that this structure could produce around 100 kw of energy, Sanigepalli highlighted that building really tall structures near the South Poles could guarantee more than 95 percent of illumination during the lunar year, in addition to illuminating and generating energy the pole could transmit power wirelessly and provide a communication network for a future lunar base. Honeybee robotics seeks to attract not only NASA but also commercial and non-commercial customers for the LUNARSABER concept, this Innovation could be a great step for lunar exploration and colonization, providing multifunctional solutions for future inhabitants of the moon, we will be attentive to the upcoming updates of this enigmatic and ambitious project.