Space dust fired from the Moon could protect humanity from global warming, scientists say

Space dust that is fired from the Moon could protect humanity from the effects of global warming, scientists have said.

Dust could be fired from the lunar surface into the middle ground between us and the Sun, they suggest. That would work as a shield, blocking out enough of the Sun’s radiation to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a new paper.

Launching dust from Earth would require huge resources even though it would be the most effective way of shielding the Earth, the scientists say. But it could be much cheaper to use dust from the Moon instead.

“It is amazing to contemplate how moon dust — which took over four billion years to generate — might help slow the rise in the Earth’s temperature, a problem that took us less than 300 years to produce,” says study co-author Scott Kenyon of the Center for Astrophysics.

But other scientists said that while the research to establish the feasibility of the dust was good, it could distract from easier and more immediate ways of protecting humanity.

“Placing moon dust at the gravity mid-point between earth and sun, can indeed reflect heat- with the right particle shape, at the right size, and in exactly the right place,” said Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh. “But this is like trying to balance marbles on a football, within a week most dust has spun out of stable orbit.

“Which is why there is no natural dust accumulation at this astronomical point. There are easier methods to decrease heating of the earth, and humans should now be enacting those to repair climate.”

And Joanna Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London, warned that the “carefully considered” and “robust” research might justify inaction. “Perhaps the main problem, however, is the suggestion that implementation of such schemes will solve the climate crisis whereas it just gives the polluters an excuse not to act,” she said.