Laser Power Beaming for Applications on the Moon

Recently the concept of using a laser to beam electrical power for applications on the moon has attracted renewed interest. Particular applications include powering remote scientific assets over the 354-hour lunar night, and powering exploration in near-polar permanently-shadowed regions (PSR) where solar power is not available. This work will summarize the approaches considered and current status of the technology, the choice of wavelengths as a function of the mission parameters, and present engineering design studies of two applications of laser power beaming for near-term lunar applications: to provide power during the lunar night from an orbital platform to a global network of small landers spread across the lunar surface, and surface-to-surface power beaming for an application to provide power to the interior of a permanently shadowed lunar crater from an illuminated surface platform.