Space patents: To the moon!

[RainDreamer]

Hello everyone, I am back again, and I am calling these thread space patent now since it is not really about rocket anymore. Today's edition is all about technology people thought up to get to the moon and to make moon habitable. Let's check out what is in the mind of people in the past and in recent time when they want to get to the moon, shall we?

Our first invention is:

1. Method for remotely powering a device such as a lunar rover - Patent US 5260639 A (Published 1993)

This is a pretty novel method of energy transmission, but still seem practical enough for application in near future. The patent note difficulty in designing a device like a rover that is lightweight, yet have high operational capacity, due to the mass of the power source being attached to it. So the idea is, they can use a constellation of satellite of at least three satellites that provide full coverage of the surface, all of which will have nuclear reactors and laser emitter, and the device receiving the laser will have a receptor that is able to convert the laser back to electrical energy, then there will be a constant energy stream from the satellites to the device. The patent is quite detailed with mass cost calculation and energy efficiency. Check it out for those details. Something that I wonder though...this would mean at most, there would only be 1 satellite powering 1 device, which mean you have to send a lot of satellites first if you want to have multiple devices working together in the same area. Would it still be cost effective then?

Anyway, moving on to the next patent:

2. Emergency lunar communications system - Patent US 3667044 A (Published in 1972)

Say you are riding along on your laser powered rover, when suddenly the Kraken eats all your satellites. You are now stranded with no power and no way to communicate with your moon base out of line of sight. Well, this device may save your life. It is essentially a mini, portable rocket with a transmitter and tiny dipole antennas on it. Because radio communication without an atmosphere to bounce signals require line of sight , you cannot contact your base when the moon itself is blocking the signal. In order to circumvent that, you just need to have something to go above the curvature of the moon, and this would be the perfect thing to do so. Of course, your communication only last as long as the trajectory of the rocket allows before it crash down, since it doesn't have nearly enough fuel to orbit. So you can carry a few of these to maintain communication as you need. I imagine there could be quite interesting stories written about space survival with this device.

But perhaps you won't need it if you have this very...interesting invention:

3. Moon capsule suit - Patent US 3139622 A (Published in 1964)

I feel like it dampens the majestic splendor of this image by putting it inside a spoiler, but it is just too big:

So, that ...thing you just saw (I hope you clicked the spoiler and see the thing), is what people in the 60s imagined how we could move around on the moon.

In a way, it represent the pinnacle of space research of the time in finding a way to make moon walk (like, walking on the moon, not the dance move. Imagine dancing in that suit.) easier for astronaut.

This is an attempt to upgrade the contemporary space suit of the time, by essentially adding arms and legs into a space capsule, and other things. A lot of other things.

It is not just a hard shell suit, it is a self contained mini-habitat with a full suite of life support and even food and drinks stored inside. Hell, there is even a built in chair inside that capsule suit so you can actually sit down.

Also, that radar dish thing you see somehow improbably attached on the top of the suit? That is not just a radar for communication. It is also a solar energy capturing device (how exactly it is captured is not mentioned in the patent, just that it will reflect all the sunlight to the orb in the center and have that converted to electrical energy somehow). Most of the electrical energy will be used to heat the capsule during lunar night. In the morning though, they also have built in radiator to control the heat (that skirt thingy). There are dust skis attached to the feets of the suit to facilitate faster movement on the moon surface (hence that skiing stick).

If you think all of that is going to be heavy, well, the inventor admits it is so. However, they also mention that, due to all the weight, it will allow for earth-like movement because the damn thing is so heavy it feels "normal" on the low gravity of the moon. The inventor even boasts that this suit provide exceptional mobility while still retain relative comfort and safety for the astronaut. Note that "exceptional mobility" is demonstrated by the ability to "kneel" - or as I see it, drop face down to the surface of the moon with a stick (that stick angled away from the face attached to the dish thingy) to prop you up from falling completely. Also note that the "relative comfort" specifically does not include air conditioning. Apparently they think that just letting the astronaut sweating it out and let it evaporate is good enough, for some reason.

I recommend you to go to the link and appreciate this invention in its entirety, especially the "kneeling" drawing. It is worth it.

And that is it for this time, peeps. Sorry for the small amount of inventions, but I am busy with schoolwork recently so I can't procrastinate much. Enjoy and discuss about the inventions!

Edited July 21, 2015 by RainDreamer