The American space agency is financing a project that involves the construction of a real “floating” railway on the Moon. All the details.
A “floating” railway on the Moon! No, it’s not the incipit of a science fiction novel, but NASA’s idea. The “Flexible Levitation on a Track (Float)” project would use magnets to move robotic carriages across the surface of the Moon, allowing astronauts to transport objects and materials more easily. Float was first proposed in 2021 and is one of six ideas chosen to be supported in the second phase of NASA’s NIAC program.
What does the project involve?
As reported by NASA, each single floating robot would be able to transport up to 30 kg of load on railway tracks. But unlike railways on Earth, which are built and drilled into the ground, these tracks would simply roll out on the surface of the Moon, without causing damage to the lunar environment.
When will something like this be possible?
It is still early for the actual construction of the railway, as the idea will first be tested on Earth, with some robot prototypes. It is hoped that Float can play an important role in NASA’s Moon to Mars program, which aims to build a sustainable and permanent base on the Moon, from where future missions to Mars will be launched. Other projects funded by NIAC include the construction of a space observatory and more efficient energy sources for use in upcoming missions.
There’s no doubt that NASA has big ambitions for the Moon. Who knows how the other space agencies will react, given that China and Russia are still working on the construction of new space bases on the Moon. The risk, in these cases, is that we arrive at a situation similar to that described in the TV series “For all mankind”, which we recommend you watch on Apple TV.
Source
