Scientists want to build huge ‘space bubbles’ to protect the Earth from overheating

The bubbles would inflate between the Earth and the Sun, reflecting some of its rays and keeping the planet cool

A raft of small, inflatable bubbles could shield the Earth from solar radiation (MIT)

Researchers have suggested that “space bubbles” the size of Brazil could be an effective way to slow the effects of global warming.

A raft in space of small, inflatable bubbles could shield the Earth from solar radiation and reflect a fraction of the light coming from the sun.

Astronomers believe that unlike other attempts to geoengineer our planet, such as dissolving gases in the stratosphere, this method does not interfere with ecosystems on Earth and therefore would have less of an impact on wildlife and plants.

However, this proposal is only meant to supplement – not replace – current attempts by humans to mitigate climate change.

“Geoengineering might be our final and only option, yet most geoengineering proposals are earthbound, which poses tremendous risks to our living ecosystem”, Carlo Ratti, who is the head of MIT’s Senseable City Lab, told architecture and design magazine Dezeen.

“Space-based solutions would be safer. For instance, if we deflect 1.8 per cent of incident solar radiation before it hits our planet, we could fully reverse today’s global warming.”

These silicon bubbles would be sent to the L1 Lagrangian Point – the point between the Earth and the sun where the gravitational influence of each body is cancelled out – in a molten form or via a graphene-reinforced liquid, and could also be deflated and removed from their position should the need arise.

MIT has carried out a preliminary experiment already by inflating a spherical shell in outer space, but more work needs to be done to explore the positioning and stability of a raft, the amount of shade it could cast on the Earth, how cost-effective the proposal is, as well as the impact it could have on public policy.

There is a risk that geoengineering could present a “moral hazard” by distracting from the necessary restrictions on fossil fuels that need to be made to help the planet get out of the climate crisis.