Sun Flower™ Power Tower
Solar Energy Collection in the Moon’s Darkest Regions
Mining and settlement operations will be highly energy extensive, so Sun Flower™ is the fundamentally enabling, non-nuclear innovation to convert lunar volatile resources into usable feedstocks. Our NIAC studies show that with Sun Flower™, a Lunar Polar Mining Outpost can affordably evolve from a robotic mining system, to a human-tended outpost, to a permanently-inhabited scientific station, accommodating private adventure travelers before becoming a permanent commercial settlement and, ultimately, a city on the Moon.
Sun Flower™ Prototype Demonstrations
TransAstra’s engineering team has designed, built, and tested two hardware prototypes as a proof-of-concept of the Sun Flower tower’s tensegrity design. The Breadboard tower prototype utilized 3D printed parts and stepper motors to demonstrate a multi-section deployable Sun Flower scale model. The Brassboard demonstration model demonstrated the deployment of a single section of a Sun Flower tower at approximately the scale required for a 100 meter class tower.