Chinese scientists have built an “artificial moon” research facility that will enable them to simulate low-gravity environments using magnetism.
The facility, slated for official launch this year, will use powerful magnetic fields inside a 2-foot-diameter (60 centimeters) vacuum chamber to make gravity “disappear.” The scientists were inspired by an earlier experiment that used magnets to levitate a frog.
Li Ruilin, a geotechnical engineer at the China University of Mining and Technology, told the South China Morning Post that the chamber, which will be filled with rocks and dust to imitate the lunar surface, is the “first of its kind in the world” and that it could maintain such low-gravity conditions for “as long as you want.”
Scientists plan to use the facility to test technology in prolonged low-gravity environments before it is sent to the moon, where gravity is just one-sixth of its strength on Earth. This will allow them to iron out any costly technical kinks, as well as test whether certain structures will survive on the moon’s surface and assess the viability of a human settlement there.
“Some experiments, such as an impact test, need just a few seconds [in the simulator],” Li said. “But others, such as creep testing, can take several days.” A creep test measures how much a material will deform under a constant temperature and stress.
