NASA Aims To Build Train On Moon

Image: nasa.gov

13 May 2024

As NASA readies to return astronauts to the moon, it has announced its plans to build a levitating robot train on the lunar surface 

Image: Unsplash

In a blog post, the space agency provided details about the project called "Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT)"

Image: Unsplash

The project aims to provide a "robotic transport system" to support future lunar activities of astronauts visiting the moon

Image: Unsplash

The transport system will be critical to the daily operation of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s, NASA said in a statement

Image: Unsplash

FLOAT will be for machines only. It will consist of magnetic robots levitating over a three-layer film track to reduce abrasion from dust on the lunar surface

Image: science.nasa.gov

Carts will be mounted on these robots and will move at roughly 1.61 kilometres per hour

Image: science.nasa.gov

The main purpose of FLOAT would be to provide transportation services in areas of the moon where astronauts are active

Image: science.nasa.gov

This will include carrying loads of lunar soil and other materials to different areas of the lunar surface

Image: science.nasa.gov

The other main use of the railway would be to transport larger loads of materials and equipment to and from the areas where spacecraft land

Image: science.nasa.gov

The FLOAT system is already being developed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California

Image: Unsplash

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Image: nasa.gov

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