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A 125 km mirror in space over mars is just too large for us to build. Even if the material used is lightweight mylar it would still require hundreds of launches of material and a huge space based assembly team.
What about droplets of water sprayed from a tank at the 214 km point? Wouldn't the water turn to ice and be reflective as a mirror? I don't know the amount of heat from the sun at that point in space, anyone?
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Water or Mars freezes, so water in space might turn to ice if the dark side was black to radiate heat.
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Make the mirror out of Iron instead, and then coat it with a reflective material. In addition the structure could become a large space colony.
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Hmm, a 125 km mirror made of iron. I think that would be far beyond possible.
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What if we used mercury instead? A large tank full of quick silver could spray a giant field of mercury droplets that would act as a giant reflector.
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What will hold the droplets in a comperativelly compact cloud to serve as reflector? Another system of mirrors? Made of what?
The most hopefull way is to use "solar sail material" -- nanomanifactured nanotube mesh, with fibers positioned in pattern and distance from each other so, that the mesh will reflect only certain wavelengths. This also is the lightest in mass possible. Carbon -- from the asteroids. Production - en situ. The integrity and the unfurlness of the mirror is supported by the redirected light itself. Also, the position of the mirror -- forced orbit, "parachuting" as statite or else; orbital period and properties, etc. See the Drexlers nano-works about the ways of dealing with electromagnetic radiation/visible light with nanomaterials. Even if it occurs that old style myllar aluminised sheets should be used, the cloth could be produced also in space, by earth-style machines in bands, with organic and other asteroidal materials, non necesarry to make thousands of launches.
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A large space colony module, with with numerous solar panels attached, could not only supply it's own needs, but also provide power via microwave transmission, and use the solar panels as mirrors to reflect sunlight.
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Might as well be useful as possible. I suspect that all large structures will be multipurpose.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statite
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Pars … ...5183225
Multipurposness is good sometimes, but about these energy supply or deflection mirrors in space, do you realise how big and how FLIMSY should they be. To illuminate very distant points with near earth equivalent o the light flux, say Titan, you`ll need statite mirror or soleta with diameter of thousands of km... millions in the Oort cloud. The major group of scientists (Dyson, Forward, Birch...) engaged in concerning this matter math games, envision use of "solar sail matterial" - nanometers thick and grams per acre weighting. Like in the construction of the old earth oceanic wind ships it is not necesarry the sails to be as thick as the hull...
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