Nikola Tesla’s ambition to transmit electricity without wires, a vision that never materialised on Earth, may finally find its first practical application on the lunar surface, according to researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology. Their proposal concentrates on the moon’s south pole, where crater rims enjoy near-continuous sunlight while adjacent permanently shadowed regions—believed to harbour valuable water ice—remain in perpetualperpetual/pərˈpɛtʃuəl/L3永久的；持续的；无休止的（强调在时间上持续不断，没有尽头）。Continuing or enduring forever; everlasting. darkness. Rather than relying on cumbersomecumbersome/ˈkʌmbərsəm/L3笨重的；累赘的；繁琐的（指因体积大、重量重或步骤多而难以处理或使用）。Large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use; unwieldy. cables or heavy batteries, future lunar rovers exploring these dark craters could receive power via laser beams transmitted from solar-powered stations situated on nearby sunlit peaks. The team outlined an optimised deployment strategy for such a lunar laser power transmission network in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration, a study that also involves the National Key Laboratory of Laser Spatial Information and the National Key Laboratory of Aerospace Mechanism.
The proposal emerges as both China and the United States intensify efforts to establish a long-term human presence on the moon, with NASA’s Artemis programme and China’s Chang’e missions both targeting the lunar south pole. The extended sunlight on elevated ridges and the water ice trapped within permanently shadowed craters render this region a prime location for scientific research and resource utilisation; however, these very conditions pose a formidableformidable/fɔːrˈmɪdəbəl/L3令人敬畏的；艰巨的；难以克服的（形容挑战、任务等因强大、困难而令人畏惧或印象深刻）。Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively powerful, intense, or difficult. engineering challenge. Rovers operating inside shadowed craters cannot depend on solar panels, and batteries alone may prove insufficient for extended missions. The proposed system therefore places solar arrays on illuminated ridges to generate high-power laser beams, which transmit energy to receivers mounted on rovers that convert the light back into electricity.
To optimise the network, the researchers employed a statistical model that determined deployment positions for laser stations, rather than selecting sites based solely on sunlight exposure. By adjusting these positions by roughly 100 metres, the network increased its effective coverage by more than 35 percent, while the powered areas became nearly fully connected. Simulations demonstrated that at a transmission distance of approximately 5 kilometres, the system could still deliver around 371 watts of received optical power and 98 watts of electrical output—sufficient, the researchers asserted, to sustain rover operations inside permanently shadowed regions. The team used topographic data from NASA’s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter around Shackleton crater, an impact crater at the moon’s south pole regarded as one of the most strategically vital sites for future exploration.
“The study provides theoretical support for the construction of lunar research bases and energy supply systems,” the authors wrote, underscoring the broader implications of their work. Future studies, they indicated, will explore integrated laser communication and power transmission, using the laser beam as both an energy source and a high-bandwidth communication channel to solve data return challenges inside permanently shadowed regions. The team also plans to consider dynamic illumination changes and coordinated power supply for multiple lunar rovers, thereby advancing the feasibilityfeasibility/ˌfiːzəˈbɪlɪti/L3可行性；可能性（指计划、系统或目标在实践中能否成功实现）。The state or degree of being easily or conveniently done; the possibility of being achieved. of sustained robotic exploration. Notwithstanding the terrestrial failures of Tesla’s original dream, this lunar application may ultimately vindicatevindicate/ˈvɪndɪkeɪt/L3证明…正确；为…辩护；洗脱罪名（指证明某观点、原则或行为是正当的、正确的）。To clear someone or something of blame, suspicion, or doubt; to justify or prove the validity of an idea. the underlying principle, offering a compelling precedent for wireless power transmission beyond Earth.
