A tower to illuminate, connect, and save them. On the Moon.

Honeybee Robotics (Blue Origin)’s proposal for the Artemis program is a 100-meter-tall structure equipped with solar panels, floodlights, and antennas to provide essential services (including emergency support) to lunar explorers.

BY EMILIO COZZI

Necessity is a powerful driver of human ingenuity. In this light, space stands as one of the most fertile fields for devising the best solutions for survival. Energy and connectivity are both human necessities: the former tied to resources, the latter to the presence of infrastructure capable of transmitting information. These will be two of the main elements of a new era of exploration—this time, on the Moon. A place, a world, where the ambition is to stay, as stated in the mission statement of the Artemis program.

This is why the proposal from Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin based in Colorado, sparks both surprise and wonder—much like stepping out of the subway at 42nd Street in Manhattan and finding oneself in Times Square.

The idea is to build a tower on the Moon, named Lunarsaber, an acronym for “Lunar Utility Navigation with Advanced Remote Sensing and Autonomous Beaming for Energy Redistribution.” Setting aside futuristic (and rather optimistic) designs that envision a lunar city, the concept of lunar surface exploration has mostly been considered in horizontal or downward directions. After landing and before ascending for the return journey, astronauts will traverse dunes to explore the soil, descend into the dark depths of craters, or even into the labyrinthine lava tubes that could offer shelter for permanent settlements.

Aiming High

Rarely is attention directed upward, vertically; shelters are typically conceived as one-story, ground-level pressurized capsules or igloos. Up there are the stars; even Earth, a magnificent presence, will be low on the horizon since the destination will be the South Pole. So, too, will the Sun.

The journey starts with the primary energy source: sunlight, which must be converted into electricity. Due to the geographical location at the Pole, the Sun’s rays will arrive at a very low angle, almost parallel to the ground, casting long lunar shadows. To capture them, one must ascend. This is why Honeybee Robotics is designing a 100-meter-high vertical structure, on and around which solar panels and various other devices can be mounted to assist astronauts by taking advantage of the elevated position.

Lunarsaber is a marvel of ingenuity and technology. It’s worth noting that a 100-meter-tall structure wouldn’t fit even in the largest rocket currently being designed, SpaceX’s Starship. The simple yet brilliant solution is called Diablo (“Deployable Interlocking Actuated Bands for Linear Operations”): essentially, the tower will be shipped rolled up like a spiral ribbon, and once placed at the chosen site, a rotating mechanism will extend it to its full height.

Honeybee Robotics has a long history in space exploration (founded in 1983), which recently merged with that of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space company, following its acquisition in 2022. As the company proudly states on its website, components developed and built by Honeybee Robotics have flown or are currently operating in various missions, with a special focus on the Mars rovers Phoenix, Spirit, and Opportunity, as well as Curiosity and Perseverance. These are primarily mechanical systems that must function, move, and rotate in conditions of near-absolute vacuum, extreme temperature fluctuations, and drastic temperature differences depending on exposure to sunlight.

Let There Be Light

Lunarsaber has been selected by DARPA, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as part of the “10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study” initiative, aimed at developing new solutions for space exploration in the coming decades. It’s no coincidence that the tower is designed to host an indefinite array of payloads such as antennas, lights, transmitters, and cameras. As is often the case in space, versatility will be the key to success.

The first thing that comes to mind for placement on the Moon is solar panels, hung like flags or clothes to dry, with a rotating mechanism to ensure they are constantly exposed to and collecting every drop of light. Alternatively, the project also envisions covering the column with the same panels. Once “brought down,” the energy (estimated at 100 kilowatts) will meet the needs of lunar settlements: lighting, air and water recycling systems, experiments, and vehicle recharging. Additionally, from the top, like a streetlamp, floodlights powered by those same panels could create a luminous oasis. The possibility of transferring energy from an illuminated tower to one in shadow using lasers to connect different locations is not excluded.

Antennas, Bridge, and Radio Beacon

Engineers estimate that Lunarsaber could support up to a ton of payloads that can benefit from its position and height. There are several examples: antennas and radio bridges could maintain communications over a wide horizon, from a potential base at its foot to astronauts several kilometers away, linking their vehicles or directly their suits for direct data and voice exchanges. From a surface station, the area covered by a radio signal, considering the terrain, is a few hundred meters. However, from a height of 100 meters, according to Honeybee’s engineers, it could reach up to 37 kilometers. It could also flood the crater floors, where water and resources will be sought, with light and connectivity.

The radio link could also serve as a node in the communication network with the Lunar Gateway, the space station in lunar orbit, and with Earth, to maintain constant contact with mission coordination bases. There, the positioning signal could bounce, coupled with satellite networks, which could serve as an emergency beacon if needed. Added to this is the possibility of integrating cameras and other instruments, radar or lasers, to monitor the surrounding area from a very advantageous vantage point.

Vishnu Sangiepalli, the principal investigator for Lunarsaber, compared the tower to a Swiss Army knife: “It is highly adaptable and versatile; it can be customized. Near the base, it has connectors that allow ground systems to receive power. Suppose your rover breaks down and a search and rescue operation is needed: Lunarsaber uses its lights to illuminate even the deepest craters, and if it cannot be reached via its local network, it has cameras and Lidar (a laser tool) to help re-establish the connection. It can wirelessly recharge the rover using its beam for energy transfer.”

These words affirm how it is increasingly reasonable to imagine the lunar landscape with a human technological footprint, distinguished by towering structures, like streetlights standing tall over vast terrestrial parking lots, that will do more than just illuminate—they will serve as conduits. They will be the nodes of a network that intertwines human efforts to make what is hostile, habitable. Once again, pushing ever further.