Researchers presented a lift plan between the moon and the earth

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the earth and the moon Moonrise on the earth.NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center

Two astronomers from Cambridge University and Columbia University proposed a plan as an alternative to an elevator between the Moon and Earth.
According to their study, existing materials such as Zylon, a carbon polymer, would allow us to build a tower or cable between the Moon and the Earth.
The researchers also suggested that the cable could have the thickness of a pencil lead and cost "billions" of dollars.
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Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we could just jump in an elevator, press a button and head to the moon?

While this may sound straight out of science fiction, scientists have in fact studied how to turn this complex idea into reality, and this now resembles a pair of astronomers from Cambridge University and the University of Cambridge. Columbia. have what they think is an achievable alternative.

According to their study, existing materials such as carbon, Zylon polymer, would allow us to build a tower or cable that would extend from the moon's surface to the Earth's geosynchronous orbit, instead to be anchored directly on our own planet.

They say the structure would be at a safe distance from Earth, about 362,000 kilometers from the moon, to avoid contact with the satellites.

The trip to the moon would involve a launch at the correct orbit height, synchronization with the end of the space cable, a trip using solar propulsion along the cable to the Lagrange points in the Earth-Moon system – without gravity. and no other physical interference – slow down to land in lunar orbit.

According to their calculations, it would indeed be possible to build such a structure using current technologies.

The concept is "eminently plausible and might have been overlooked as a major step in the development of our ability to move as a species within our solar system", according to the l & # 39; published study.

Read more: A Redditor has collected 150,000 photos of the moon to create a breathtaking image

The details of the study suggest that the cable connecting the Earth and the Moon would be the thickness of a pencil lead and could be anchored on the moon with an estimated budget of "billions" of dollars .

Although this may seem like an exorbitant price, such a structure could save us a lot of money – according to scientists, "it would reduce the fuel needed to reach the moon's surface at one-third of current value."

view of the earth from the moon The structure would be at a safe distance from the Earth, about 362,000 kilometers from the moon.Bloomsbury Auctions

The Executive Director of the ESA's International Working Group on Moon Exploration, Bernard Foing, however, told Business Insider that the issue was "very complex" and that, in terms of realization of such a project, The technical plan is still very premature, even if it is an inspiring idea ".

According to him, building such a long structure would pose considerable problems of balance, but could also pose security problems to other spacecraft, such as satellites.

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