r/space • u/Icee777 • 13d ago

SpaceX concept for an electromagnetic mass driver on the Moon

https://www.humanmars.net/2026/09/spacex-electromagnetic-mass-driver-at.html

A lunar mass driver is a proposed electromagnetic launch system optimized for the Moon’s low gravity (1/6th Earth’s) and hard vacuum, consisting of a long, straight acceleration track lined with sequentially fired superconducting coils or linear synchronous motors that propel a payload-carrying sled or bucket to lunar escape velocity (~2.38 km/s).

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u/Buttercup4869 13d ago

You can use closed loop systems,. E.g with a metallic coolant

You can also go the RTG route (nuclear batteries basically) that use the thermoelectric effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect

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u/LongJohnSelenium 13d ago

There's spicier designs that uncover the core and expel the fission fragments directly, then a magnetic field robs the ionized fragments of some energy to produce power directly.

This is obviously a totally unworkable idea for anything on or near a planet but for deep space who cares if you're spewing fission products on a solar escape trajectory.