The project, called Floataims to create a completely autonomous and efficient railway system to support future lunar bases that are planned to be built in the coming years. Ethan Schaler, mechanical engineer of Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Californiais leading this ambitious project. The target And supply a reliable transport solution for materials such as regolith, essential for in situ manufacturing and lunar construction.
Float involves the use of magnetic robots that levitate above slopes composed by three layers: a layer of graphite which allows levitation, a second layer which generates an electromagnetic thrust to move the robots in a checkedand a third layer optional Of panels solar for energy production. These robot They have no moving parts, making them ideal for operating in dusty environments such as the lunar surface.
The peculiarity of these robots is that they can transport loads of up to 30 kilos per square meter and move at speeds greater than 0.5 meters per second. This ability makes them extremely useful for transporting materials over long lunar distances, potentially until 100,000 kilos per day. The slopes on which you they move they can be easily rolled out directly onto the lunar surface and, after use, rolled up again to be reused or reconfigured as needed.
Lunar Railway: Looking to the Future
The project Float it’s just one of many projects innovative funded by NASA through the Innovative program Advanced Concepts. Other proposals include a space telescope using ionic liquids and a plasma rocket pulsed to speed up travel towards Mars. Each project, including the Lunar Railway, has received significant funding for future developments and is getting ever closer to realization.
What do you think about this futuristic vision of lunar transport? Will NASA be able to to commute this dream in reality? Share your opinion in the comments!
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