Asteroid-Tethered Sun ‘Umbrella’ Could Combat Climate Change

In an inventive attempt to curb the adverse impacts of climate change, István Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, has proposed a unique concept. He envisions a solar shield that reduces the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, complemented by an asteroid used as a counterweight.

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Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Szapudi’s idea tackles the long-standing problem of managing solar radiation. Solar shields have been suggested in the past as a method to cool the Earth. However, the weight required to balance gravitational forces and prevent the shield from being blown away by solar radiation has proved prohibitive due to the associated cost.

Szapudi’s innovative approach includes two key elements. The first is the tethered counterweight, which reduces the total mass by more than 100 times. The second is the use of a captured asteroid as the counterweight, eliminating the need to launch the majority of the mass from Earth.

Szapudi’s goal is to decrease solar radiation by 1.7%, the estimated amount required to avert a disastrous global temperature rise. His calculations suggest that a tethered counterbalance system could reduce the combined weight of the shield and counterweight to approximately 3.5 million tons. This figure is significantly lighter than the previously estimated mass for an untethered shield.

However, only 1% of this weight – about 35,000 tons – would constitute the shield itself, the part that needs to be launched from Earth. The remaining 99% would consist of asteroids or lunar dust, serving as a counterweight. Using new, lighter materials could reduce the shield’s mass even further, making it more feasible to build and deploy than other shield designs.

Szapudi’s proposed method of solar radiation management remains a challenging task with current rocket launch capabilities. However, by leveraging today’s technology, Szapudi’s plan brings the concept into the realm of feasibility. His research underlines the critical need for a strong, lightweight tether connecting the shield and the counterweight, a development we look forward to seeing in the future.

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