NASA has taken to its website to reveal some brief plans for constructing the first levitating robot on the surface of the Moon.
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NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has proposed plans to construct the first lunar railway system, which will be designed to provide reliable, autonomous and efficient payload transport between locations on the surface of the Moon. The space agency has proposed developing FLOAT, or Flexible Levitation on a Track, which is a system that uses magnetic robots that levitate over the track.
How is this possible? NASA explains the track will be comprised of three layers: a graphene layer that enables robots to float above it using diamagnetic levitation, a flex-circuit layer to generate electromagnetic thrust to move the robots along the track, and an optional, but preferable solar panel layer to catch any sunlight. The additional benefits of FLOAT is the robots won’t be touching the track, which minimizes the chance of wear and tear.
3The space agency continued with the benefits of FLOAT by explaining the proposed track design is capable of being rolled out directly onto the surface of the Moon without the need for time-consuming construction. How much will they be able to carry? NASA imagines FLOAT robots will be able to carry payloads of various sizes. With the space agency writing, it expects the FLOAT system will be capable of transporting 100,000+ kilograms (220,462 lbs) of regolith/payload multiple kilometers per day from various locations across the lunar surface.
