Nasa Develops First Railway System on the Moon
The Nasa is currently working on designing the first railway network on the Moon, with unfurlable tracks and magnetically levitating robots for the transportation of heavy loads near future lunar bases. The project, called Float (Flexible Levitation on a Track), is led by mechanical engineer Ethan Schaler from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and is among the six visionary studies that have passed the first phase of selection in the Innovative Advanced Concepts (Niac) program.
Among the projects in the running, there are other science-fiction technologies such as a fluidic space telescope based on ionic liquids and a pulsed plasma rocket to accelerate trips to Mars. In the second phase of the Niac program, these projects will receive up to $600,000 for another two years of development before further selection for access to the third and final phase of the program, which could lead to the launch of a new aerospace mission.
The Float project aims to create the first lunar railway system to provide a reliable, autonomous, and efficient means of transporting cargo. “A durable robotic transport system will be crucial for the daily operations of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s,” explains Schaler. This system will be particularly important for transporting regolith (extracted for in-situ consumption products or constructions) and payloads between the lunar base and potential landing sites or other outposts.
The Float system intends to employ non-powered magnetic robots that levitate on a three-layer flexible film track: a layer of graphite that allows the robots to levitate, a flexible layer that generates electromagnetic thrust to move the robots in a controlled manner, and an optional layer made of solar panel film that can generate energy for the base when exposed to sunlight.
The Float robots have no moving parts and levitate on the track to minimize abrasion and wear caused by lunar dust. The tracks are unfurled directly on the lunar regolith to avoid significant on-site construction, and can later be rolled up and reconfigured to adapt to different needs. The individual Float robots will be able to transport payloads of various shapes and sizes (over 30 kilograms per square meter) at useful speeds (exceeding 0.5 meters per second). A similar large-scale railway system would allow for the movement of up to 100,000 kilograms for several kilometers per day.
The development of the lunar railway system marks an important step towards the establishment of sustainable human presence on the Moon. It will provide a reliable means of transporting resources and supplies, facilitating the exploration and utilization of the lunar surface. With the Float project progressing to the next phase of development, it is clear that exciting advancements in space transportation technology are on the horizon.