NASA’s Bold Plan to Build the First Railway on the Moon

NASA is embarking on an ambitious plan to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, which necessitates innovative infrastructure to handle the harsh lunar environment. Among the advanced concepts under consideration is a magnetic levitation railway system called FLOAT (Flexible Levitation on a Track). This initiative is part of NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which recently selected six projects for further development and funding.

The FLOAT system is designed to transport cargo across the Moon's surface efficiently and with minimal wear. It employs unpowered magnetic robots that levitate above a flexible film track composed of three layers: a graphite layer for passive diamagnetic levitation, a flex-circuit layer for electromagnetic propulsion, and an optional thin-film solar panel layer to generate power. This design allows the robots to hover and move without the abrasion issues that wheeled or legged robots would face due to lunar dust.

These robots, capable of carrying loads up to 72 pounds (33 kilograms) at a speed of 0.5 meters per second, are intended to transport materials such as lunar soil, building supplies, and equipment. Notably, FLOAT will not be used for human transportation. The system is designed for ease of deployment, with tracks that can unroll directly onto the lunar surface, eliminating the need for extensive on-site construction.

While FLOAT is a new concept, the idea of a lunar railway is not. Northrop Grumman, for instance, is developing a similar concept that aims to transport both cargo and humans. As FLOAT moves into the second phase of NIAC, the focus will be on designing and testing prototypes, assessing environmental impacts, and refining system simulations.

In addition to FLOAT, other groundbreaking projects are being explored under NIAC, such as a nuclear fission-powered plasma rocket that could significantly reduce travel time to Mars. These advanced engineering concepts are crucial for future human settlements on the Moon and Mars, reflecting NASA’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration and technology. For updates on these projects and other spaceflight news, NASA encourages following their social media channels and Gizmodo's dedicated Spaceflight page.