Phased-array beaming of laser power from cislunar space to the lunar surface
Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 024015 – Published 4 February, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hry6-dl1g
Abstract
We present a time-dependent end-to-end framework for laser power beaming from cislunar orbits to the lunar surface. The model links on-orbit generation (solar arrays and wall plug to optical), terrain-masked visibility and range, beam propagation with realistic divergence and jitter, and surface conversion with thermal and dust limits, returning delivered daily energy. Baseline loads for early polar activities [habitat survival, mobility, communications and navigation (comm/nav), pilot in situ resource utilization (ISRU)] set target values and are used consistently in scaling laws and design maps. A near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) to a Shackleton-rim site provides a worked example: for a 2-m-class phased array at 1064 nm, the reference geometry yields approximately to a receiver (about 28 W averaged over the day). We place this result in context by comparing on the same daily-energy metric to surface photovoltaics (PVs) with storage and to compact fission, and by showing how the delivered energy scales nearly linearly with the transmit power and as via encircled-energy capture, with a multiplicative gain from visibility (constellations). The same framework indicates practical regimes already within reach: e.g., a 10-m effective-aperture optical phased array at kW delivers approximately at polar sites with typical single-orbiter visibility, as quantified by the delivered-energy and sizing maps. Thus, laser beaming is mass competitive where darkness or permanent shadow forces deep storage for PV, or where distributed and duty-cycled users can amortize a shared transmitter; compact fission retains advantage for continuous multikilowatt baseload at fixed sites.
