Environment transformers

On the Moon, Mars, Mercury and potentially other worlds within our galaxy, we know of permanently shadowed craters and caves that receive no sunlight. These areas are of particular interest to scientists as they may contain significant quantities of ice that could be studied. However, the problem with ice is that it’s pretty solid. Unless you’ve got a human explorer or a rover with a drill, it’s difficult to do anything with it. That’s where transformers come in. These multifunctional platforms would be placed at the rim of a crater, where they would then reflect incoming sunlight, using mirrors, onto specific sections of the ice. This would melt it, allowing an automated rover to analyse the resultant water.

This incredible technology could provide us with a low-cost option for accessing ice and water across the Solar System, giving us clues into planetary formation and perhaps even supplying future astronauts with a resource of water.

“These areas are of particular interest to scientists as they may contain significant quantities of ice that could be studied”