Giant space ‘umbrella’ tethered to asteroid could protect Earth from climate crisis, study says

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Research estimates type of ’umbrella’ needed to achieve solar radiation reduction by about 1.7 per cent

Vishwam Sankaran

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Scientists have theorised a new approach involving a giant space “umbrella” to use as a solar shield to protect the Earth from excess sunlight and thus help reduce its impact on global heating.

Istvan Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy, said a solar shield tethered to a captured asteroid as a counterweight can be developed into a workable design to mitigate the climate crisis within decades.

With the Earth rapidly warming, scientists across the world are developing a number of new ways to reduce the effects of climate change .

One of the approaches previously proposed to reduce global temperature is to shade the Earth from a fraction of the Sun ’s light using a solar “umbrella”.

However, the large amount of weight needed to make such a shield massive enough to balance gravitational forces and prevent solar radiation pressure from blowing it away makes even the lightest materials prohibitively expensive.

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In the new study, published recently in the journal PNAS , Dr Szapudi proposes using a tethered counterweight instead of just a massive shield to make the total mass more than 100 times less.

The research theorises that a captured asteroid could be used as the counterweight to avoid launching most of the mass from Earth.

“In Hawai’i, many use an umbrella to block the sunlight as they walk about during the day. I was thinking, could we do the same for Earth and thereby mitigate the impending catastrophe of climate change?” Dr Szapudi said.

The new research estimated the type of such an “umbrella” that would be needed to achieve a goal of reducing solar radiation impact on Earth by about 1.7 per cent – the amount that may be needed to prevent catastrophic rise in global temperatures.

The study found that placing a tethered counterbalance toward the Sun could reduce the weight of the overall shield and counterweight to approximately 3.5 million tons – about 100 times lighter than previous estimates for an untethered shield.

However, this number is far beyond current space launch capabilities from Earth as even the largest rockets can only lift about 50 tons to low Earth orbit.

But by using an asteroid as a counterweight, the study noted that only 1 per cent of the weight – about 35,000 tons – would be the shield itself that needs to be launched from Earth.

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And with newer, lighter materials, the mass of the shield can be reduced even further.

Dr Szapudi said such a tethered structure would be faster and cheaper to build and deploy than current shield designs.

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1 / 1 Giant space ‘umbrella’ can protect Earth from climate crisis: study

Giant space ‘umbrella’ can protect Earth from climate crisis: study

Artist’s rendition of the proposed solar shield tethered to an asteroid as a counterweight

Brooks Bays/UH Institute for Astronomy

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Space. Research estimates type of ’umbrella’ needed to achieve solar radiation reduction by about 1.7 per cent. Vishwam Sankaran. Comments. Article bookmarked. Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. ✕. Close. Related video: NASA gears up to analyse asteroid samples that could help explain how life began in the Solar System. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter. SIGN UP. privacy notice. Thanks for signing up to the IndyTech email. Scientists have theorised a new approach involving a giant space “umbrella” to use as a solar shield to protect the Earth from excess sunlight and thus help reduce its impact on global heating. Istvan Szapudi, an astronomer at the University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy, said a solar shield tethered to a captured asteroid as a counterweight can be developed into a workable design to mitigate the climate crisis within decades. With the Earth rapidly warming, scientists across the world are developing a number of new ways to reduce the effects of climate change . One of the approaches previously proposed to reduce global temperature is to shade the Earth from a fraction of the Sun ’s light using a solar “umbrella”. However, the large amount of weight needed to make such a shield massive enough to balance gravitational forces and prevent solar radiation pressure from blowing it away makes even the lightest materials prohibitively expensive. Recommended. Rock launched from Earth likely ‘boomeranged’ back as meteorite, suspect researchers. Two planets sharing same orbit around their star? Astronomers find strongest evidence yet. Why a Harvard professor thinks he may have found fragments of an alien spacecraft. In the new study, published recently in the journal PNAS , Dr Szapudi proposes using a tethered counterweight instead of just a massive shield to make the total mass more than 100 times less. The research theorises that a captured asteroid could be used as the counterweight to avoid launching most of the mass from Earth. “In Hawai’i, many use an umbrella to block the sunlight as they walk about during the day. I was thinking, could we do the same for Earth and thereby mitigate the impending catastrophe of climate change?” Dr Szapudi said. The new research estimated the type of such an “umbrella” that would be needed to achieve a goal of reducing solar radiation impact on Earth by about 1.7 per cent – the amount that may be needed to prevent catastrophic rise in global temperatures. The study found that placing a tethered counterbalance toward the Sun could reduce the weight of the overall shield and counterweight to approximately 3.5 million tons – about 100 times lighter than previous estimates for an untethered shield. However, this number is far beyond current space launch capabilities from Earth as even the largest rockets can only lift about 50 tons to low Earth orbit. But by using an asteroid as a counterweight, the study noted that only 1 per cent of the weight – about 35,000 tons – would be the shield itself that needs to be launched from Earth. Recommended. Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad? The startling and grim discoveries unearthed by the climate crisis. Earth’s CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history. And with newer, lighter materials, the mass of the shield can be reduced even further. Dr Szapudi said such a tethered structure would be faster and cheaper to build and deploy than current shield designs. More about. climate change. Earth. Sun. sunlight. asteroid. Climate crisis. Join our commenting forum. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Comments. 1 / 1 Giant space ‘umbrella’ can protect Earth from climate crisis: study. Giant space ‘umbrella’ can protect Earth from climate crisis: study. Artist’s rendition of the proposed solar shield tethered to an asteroid as a counterweight. Brooks Bays/UH Institute for Astronomy. Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Subscribe. Already subscribed? Log in. Most Popular. Popular videos. Sponsored Features.