Can Lunar dust be a solution to global warming? 

As we are all aware, scientists around the world are trying to find out innovative and effective measures to control or at least reduce climate change. Keeping this in mind, recently, a team of researchers based at University of Utah, USA reported that as per their latest study, global warming can be solved by firing lunar dust into the space, using a gun. This will in turn create a floating “solar shield” that will help deflect the sun’s ray from the Earth. 

The study was published in the journal Plos Climate and posits that dust from the moon is of the ideal size and composition to block sunlight effectively in comparison to Earth-based substances. But, as you can imagine, it would need an enormous amount of lunar dust to shield the sun’s harmful rays away from the Earth. As a result, millions of tonnes of dust will need to be mined from the moon annually, sifted and loaded and then “ballistically ejected” into the outer space, about 1 million miles away from the Earth. This would involve significant efforts and money, not to forget installation of more space stations.  

Some of the experts have even suggested that it will be cost effective as well as energy efficient to try and launch the lunar grains directly from the moon’s surface rather than from down the Earth. It will almost be like a “moonshot.”  

Prior to the new findings, researchers were looking at a variety of options to block global heating such as coal and sea salt. They even discovered that together these materials can block the sun’s rays by 2 percent. But now lunar dust seems to be the most suitable option. It can be deployed using electromagnetic rail gun every year to maintain the solar shield.  

However, what will be difficult is reaching the mining and projective equipment to the moon and positioning of a new space station near an area called L1 Lagrange point, located between the Earth and the Sun. Experts believe this region would act as the ideal place to scatter the moon dust that would provide continuous shade for almost a year. Above all, this method would be environment-friendly as opposed to other solar geoengineering techniques that have been developed over the years.  

But the method has to be consistent, otherwise the Earth would suffer from “termination shock” in which the temporary cooling is abruptly paused and the globe is left to quickly warm up.  

Okay, but does that mean the earthlings can continue emitting greenhouse gases? Well, absolutely not! The measures to reduce carbon footprints and this moonshot will go along side by side, and would help speed-up the process of global cooling.  

Many have dismissed the brand-new proposition as outlandish, unhelpful and potentially hazardous, however, the likes of UCLA environmental law professor Ted Parson have deemed as a fun, scientifically interesting and hopeful speculation.” Others still believe that rapid technological advancements and socioeconomic transitions are the only ways global heating can be resolved.