NASA plans to build a rail system on the Moon to transport lunar regolith

Recently, the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a series of projects planned to be carried out in the coming years. A total of six projects were approved in the Advanced Innovative Concepts (NIAC) programme, Including a program to build a rail system to facilitate the movement of cargo on the Moon.

All selected concepts have already completed the first phase of NIAC, and in Phase II they will receive up to US$600,000 (about R$3 million at the current exchange rate) to work on over the next two years.. The money will be used to solve all technical hurdles. Selected projects will only be able to move to the final stage and even gain additional value when everything is completed.

The project, which wants to build a railway system on the surface of the Moon, is called FLOAT, which is short for Flexible Levitation A Track. The idea of ​​engineers is to develop a lifting rail system that allows transportation of loads necessary for the astronauts’ work; reliably, efficiently and autonomously.

“These diverse, science fiction-like concepts represent a fantastic class of Phase II studies. Our NIAC friends never cease to surprise and inspire, and this class certainly gives NASA a lot to think about about what’s possible in the future,” said NASA in Washington John Nelson, NIAC program manager at Headquarters, said in an official statement from NIAC. Space Agency.

Rail system on the moon

According to NASA, The aim is to build railway networks on the lunar surface to facilitate the transport of cargo between the base, landing sites, mining areas and regolith extraction areas (lunar rocks). The system’s rails will not be completely fixed and will be positioned directly on the lunar soil; Therefore, you will need to prepare the site before construction.

NASA’s idea is to present a railway project that would support the operations of a moon base created for mining, possibly in the 2030s. In this second phase of the program, FLOAT will be built in a scaled-down form in a lunar-like environment. It’s on the surface to understand what the challenges of ‘getting the target off the ground’ will be.

“[O projeto] Flexible Rail Levitation will be a lunar rail system that provides reliable, autonomous and efficient cargo transportation on the Moon. This rail system could support daily operations of a sustainable moon base starting in the 2030s. in Southern California,” NASA explains.

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