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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