A proposed 330-foot tower, designed to stand on the Moon like a giant streetlight, is moving forward with funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The concept, developed by Honeybee Robotics—a company acquired by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in 2022—aims to support future lunar operations by providing power, lighting, and communications from a single elevated structure.
Known as LUNARSABER (Lunar Utility Navigation with Advanced Remote Sensing and Autonomous Beaming for Energy Redistribution), the tower is designed to carry up to one ton of scientific equipment on its top. According to Honeybee, multiple such towers could be linked in a mesh network to extend coverage across the lunar surface.
DARPA awarded Honeybee funding last year under its Ten-year Lunar Architecture Capability Study (LunA-10), a program exploring long-term infrastructure concepts for the Moon. While the project remains in an early conceptual stage, the company has outlined a practical approach to construction.
Building a Tower in Space
One of the main challenges is delivering a structure of this size to the Moon. No current rocket has a payload fairing large enough to carry a 330-foot pole in one piece. To solve this, Honeybee developed a system called DIABLO (Deployable Interlocking Actuated Bands for Linear Operations), which can bend rolled metal into cylindrical sections. This in-situ manufacturing process would allow the tower to be assembled on the lunar surface from compact materials.
Once deployed, the tower could serve multiple functions. During the lunar night—which lasts about two Earth weeks—floodlights on the structure could illuminate the surrounding area. During the day, solar panels mounted on the tower could generate electricity, with Honeybee estimating a potential output of around 100 kilowatts. The height of the structure would allow it to capture sunlight for longer periods than ground-level panels.
“If we have the ability to build really tall structures near the south poles, we can essentially ensure that there is greater than 95 percent illumination throughout the lunar year,” Vishnu Sanigepalli, Honeybee’s principal investigator, told Space.com last year. “This depends on the location and the height.”
The tower could also be used to beam power wirelessly to other structures within its line of sight, and to support wireless communications for a future lunar base.
Versatile Tool for Lunar Operations
Sanigepalli described LUNARSABER as a “Swiss army knife” in a company video, emphasizing its adaptability. “It’s highly adaptable and versatile and you can customize it,” he said.
Honeybee is not limiting the project to NASA. In a press release last year, Sanigepalli said the company hopes to attract “both commercial and non-commercial customers” for the concept, suggesting a broader market for lunar infrastructure.
The project is part of a wider interest in lunar exploration, with recent discoveries of caverns beneath the Moon’s surface adding to the scientific appeal of establishing a permanent presence there. While LUNARSABER remains a concept, its development reflects ongoing efforts to create the infrastructure needed for sustained human activity on the Moon.
Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin subsidiary, is developing a 330-foot lunar tower under a DARPA contract. The structure aims to provide power, lighting, and communications for future Moon missions, with a novel self-assembling design.
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