NASA Unveils Lunar Railway System for Efficient Payload Transport

NASA has unveiled plans for a groundbreaking railway system destined for the lunar surface, aiming to establish the inaugural lunar railway system to facilitate reliable, autonomous, and efficient payload transport on the Moon, revealed robotics expert Ethan Schaler of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Schaler emphasized the importance of a robust, enduring robotic transport system for sustaining daily operations at a future lunar base in the 2030s.

Dubbed the Flexible Levitation on a Track, or FLOAT, the lunar rail proposal is poised to play a pivotal role in the daily operations on the lunar surface, according to NASA. It is envisioned to offer transportation services in areas where astronauts are actively engaged, facilitating the movement of lunar soil and other materials across various regions of the moon.

Each robotic unit within the FLOAT system is anticipated to navigate at a speed of approximately 1 mph (1.61 km/h), capable of transporting cargo of diverse sizes and forms, as outlined by Dr. Schaler.

This innovative initiative comes on the heels of NASA’s recent announcement of new endeavors aimed at developing and testing novel vehicle models tailored for lunar exploration, underscoring the agency’s ongoing commitment to advancing lunar exploration capabilities.

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