Venus Sunshade (Segmented Mirror)
Concept
- Place a segmented, cone-tuned sunshade near Sun–Venus L1 to reduce insolation without drifting from solar radiation pressure (SRP) — use angled annular slats that “reflect backward” to self-balance SRP.
- Target outcome: progressive cooling → CO₂ crosses critical point (~31 °C at ~73 bar), triggering rain → lakes → oceans → freeze over decades.
Why it matters
- Enables staged sequestration of CO₂ (freeze, store, or export) and a nitrogen-dominant residual atmosphere.
- Creates a controllable radiative forcing “dial” via reflectivity, area, and incident angle control.
Engineering notes
- Segments: modular slats for tensioned membranes (Kapton/Mylar), CFRP booms, robotic assembly with optical fiducials for alignment.
- Attitude & station-keeping: SRP torque management; micro-thrusters or magnetic torquers (depending on local field) for trim.
- Thermal/optical: aluminized coatings; wrinkle control; target reflectivity >0.85; areal density KPI.
YC-phase deliverables (90 days)
- 1–5 m sunshade slice prototype: deployment + tensioning
- Reflectivity and wrinkle amplitude measurements
- SRP torque & attitude control sim + HIL bench
- Segmentation & robotic alignment demo with fiducials
Technical References — Venus Mirror & Planetary Terraforming
- Kortenkamp & Winglee, 'A Solar Shade for Venus' (Planetary and Space Science 2015)
Quantifies orbital positioning and radiation balance effects of large-scale sunshades for Venus cooling.
- Fogg M.J., 'Terraforming Venus: A Review' (Advances in Space Research 1995)
Classic review of atmospheric drawdown methods, chemical sequestration, and orbital shading concepts.
- Birch P., 'Terraforming Venus Quickly' (JBIS 1991)
Early quantitative model of solar reflector arrays and atmospheric condensation dynamics.
- NASA Planetary Climate Modeling Group Notes
Global-circulation simulations of Venus atmosphere used for estimating cooling timescales.
- Kurzgesagt — 'How to Terraform Venus' (2020)
Accessible video overview of mirror-based cooling and atmospheric transformation timeline.