Space elevators to ferry passengers and cargo to and from orbit could be built using existing materials, if the technology takes inspiration from biology to fix itself when needed, a new study finds.
In theory, a space elevator consists of a cable or bundle of cables that extend thousands of miles to a counterweight in space. The rotation of the Earth would keep the cable taut, and climber vehicles would zip up and down the cable at the speed of a train.
Image: An artist's illustration of a massive space elevator transportation system. Future versions of the technology could one day fix themselves. Credit: Japan Space Elevator Association
