The craters of the moon's south pole have been dark for billions of years. but in recent years scientists have gradually discovered evidence that the moon's backside may contain water. NASA has provided nearly $ 1 million in funding to the laser pointer research team at eight U.S. universities to develop new methods to find and eventually extract water from these permanently shaded areas.
A joint research team co-led by the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Arizona received $ 114,000 in funding for a project that combines lasers with femtosecond satellites. A femtosecond satellite is a small, disposable satellite developed by the laboratory. about the size of a butter stick.
The Colorado School of Mines is exploring the concept of using lasers to drive lights and lunar exploration machines. "Students are actually building a complete green laser pointer system, which is very rare, especially in the field of aerospace," said the assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and the head of the laboratory at the University of Arizona. "Our project is to build the stepping stones to the necessary technology to explore and extract water from the moon's surface."
Lunar exploration has always been "expensive." So researchers need a low-cost, low-risk method to test the feasibility of using Laser Engraver signals to power and communicate in the lunar environment.
"What makes these femtosecond satellites special is that they cost very little. You can send dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of them at the price of an ordinary satellite. Because the environment on the back of the moon is so for us Strange. so disposable spacecraft are the perfect way to explore these areas.
In some jurisdictions, laser power is limited. Therefore, it may be limited to laser pointers that you can use. However, you can be in countries/regions that do not have laser restrictions. The question then becomes "How much energy is needed?" The absolute limit for this application should be around 50 mW. There is no objective reason to require more than 50 mW of power for astronomical pointing applications. It is possible that the laser diodes, lenses and supports recovered from here or there will create a very powerful blue laser! Blue laser diodes usually provide 1000mW of optical power at a wavelength of 445nm.