I have had this
idea probably since a decade and a half.
My idea is
simply this: why can’t there be a permanent full moon out there in the evening
sky? Of course, those of you who have always been city dwellers need to get out
of your cities and go into the countryside and experience a moonless starry
night for yourselves and see the dazzling vista that it presents. And you need
to sit on a sea beach on an evening when there is a full moon in the sky and
experience something which is awe-inspiring and timeless. We need to find time
in our busy lives to spend some time in the lap of nature and reflect on the
grandeur of the universe which has been there for almost forever and unless we
humans do something drastic selfishly, will go on almost forever as well. Why I
use the word ‘almost’ is because, of course, nothing in nature is permanent –
nothing really lasts forever. Even the
mountains and the oceans and indeed this planet that we inhabit and the moon
that we admire and the sun which gives us almost all of the energy – all these
have a lifetime. All of these came into being some time in the distant past and
will eventually turn into something else after millions and billions of years.
But on the
scale of a human lifespan, so much of nature appears unchanging and eternal.
The Moon, for
instance.
So, my idea
regarding a second moon is what if we send a second moon up into the sky. Well,
not another moon in 3D exactly, but something that will have the circular disc
shape of the natural Moon that we see on the night sky of a full moon day. So,
my idea is to send a structure into geostationary orbit – say, a honeycomb
structure. We certainly have powerful geostationary satellite launchers in the
United States and Russia and Europe and even Japan and China and India have
taken strides in that direction.
So, we could
have a foldable structure like the solar panels of the satellites which unfurl
once up in space. There could be a honeycomb shaped structure made of titanium
or carbon fiber or some other similar lightweight and strong and durable
material and then we need to wrap a layer of aluminum foil or similar
lightweight material to create a reflective surface which will reflect
sunlight.
This honeycomb
structure can be made circular like the full moon. And for this shape to have
the relative size of the natural Moon, the dimensions would roughly need to be
as follows: the Moon is roughly 2,000 km in radius and is at a distance of
about 4, 00,000 km. I have rounded these figures rather egregiously, I know, so
science guys, sorry, and please bear with me as the main idea here is to give
rough numbers. So, the geostationary orbit is at a distance of about 40,000 kms
(again, science guys, don’t open wikipedia to confirm that; to be exact, it is
approximately 35,786 km).
And for those
from a non-science background, the geostationary orbit is where all the TV
satellites (like INSAT) are placed. So, we get to see all those nifty programs
on TV only because there are hundreds of satellites in the geostationary orbit.
And why is one going on and on about a geostationary orbit? Well, because if
you put something there, then that object will make one revolution of the Earth
in 24 hours: that is as much time as the Earth takes to make a rotation around
itself. So, to a person on Earth, any object in a geostationary orbit will
appear to be ‘stationary’.
So, if we
create this circular-shaped reflective surface at a distance of about 40,000 km
from Earth and with a radius of about 200 km, then to us standing here on
Earth, it will have roughly the same size as the Moon.
So, what one is
talking about here is creating a reflective surface of an area of about 120,000
sq. km. So, engineers out there, it’s up to you guys to get your calculators
out and make calculations of how much the skeleton of such a structure is
likely to weigh. I don’t think the reflective surface to be made out of Mylar
film or silver or aluminum is likely to be a ‘weighty’ issue at all…
So, keeping in
mind that the Internal Space Station is a reality today, I am looking forward
to receiving comments as to how feasible it might be to put up something like
this in a geostationary orbit.
Readers might
be wondering what a ‘loony’ idea this is! Why on Earth should there be such a
thing. Well, one is aesthetic. It could be a beautiful sight. The other reason
why I want this to take place is rather practical and more important for me.
The reason the idea occurred to me in the first place is that many years ago, I
used to visit my ancestral village and during the evenings, the village roads
would be so dark and spectral and I
remember if there was a full moon in the sky, one could see the road ahead so
clearly.
So, if we can
have a full moon out there every evening, then it would be the equivalent of
putting up street lights in every village in India. That’s the prospect that
makes me really excited – that we can have this ‘natural’ street light. Imagine
all the energy that is going to be saved in the process and in these days of a
looming Climate Catastrophe, I
don’t think this is a factor that can be ignored.
And of course,
in time there will be other uses for such an object. A geostationary moon
parked over India would be invisible to people in, say, the United States. May
be, they will want to have their own moon – just for the heck of it. May be,
the Bransons or the Trumps or some other visionary (or megalomaniac) will think
of sending (or creating) a moon of his (or her) own – may be to use it as the
ultimate advertising hording. Imagine a day when there will be lots of full moons
up in the sky with logos of Coca-Cola and McDonalds and Wal-Mart and Boeing and
Nike and Gillette emblazoned across them…
Oh, have I
revealed a business secret here which I should have first patented! Well, let
me end this piece by merely noting that I don’t wish to make money by selling
ideas. And really, I would hate to see a night sky full of full moons being
utilized as advertising hoardings, but I think that is an inevitability that
will come to pass someday.
It might appear
to be an out of this world kind of idea today, but then, who would have thought
that two 110-storey buildings can collapse. Moreover, that someone could
destroy those buildings by crashing passenger airplanes into them…Could anyone
have forecast that a tsunami can cause a death toll of 2,00,000 human lives … can
anyone guarantee that an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale is not
going to strike Delhi? And what will happen if that happens? How many will die
in India’s capital? A million people? Two million? Who knows what the future
has in store for us.