NEW DELHI: NASA is preparing to send astronauts back to the moon, and it has made the announcement to build the first ever lunar railway system, known as FLOAT ( Flexible Levitation on a Track ). The Fly program is being developed by specialists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL) in California.
The initiative is intended to create a “robotic travel program” that will help the future solar activities of astronauts visiting the sky, the space agency stressed on the importance of this transport system for the normal operation of a green lunar base in the 2030s.
A technology expert at Nasa’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ethan Schaler said,” We want to create the first solar rail system, which will provide reliable, intelligent, and efficient cargo travel on the Moon. In the 2030s, a robust lunar base will require a robust, long-life robotic transport system, as stated in Nasa’s Moon to Mars plan and mission ideas, such as the Robotic Lunar Surface Operations 2 ( RLSO2 ).
Based on Nasa ‘ s original design, Fly will be solely for equipment.
Important features in Fly system
- The Glide system, which is designed to float over a three-layer film track to reduce abrasion from solar dust, will use electromagnetic robots.
- These drones will shift around 1.61 kilometers per hour and have carts.
- The program aims to carry around 100 tons of material daily to and from NASA’s upcoming lunar foundation.
- FLOAT’s main goal is to provide transportation to the moon’s effective astronaut regions.
- It will move materials from the moon to different locations on the lunar surface.
- The railway may also make it easier to move more cargo and equipment between aircraft landing sites and other locations.
FLOAT may function independently in the filthy, unhospitable lunar environment with little site preparation, according to Nasa’s blog post, and its network of tracks can be rolled up and reconfigured over time to meet changing mission requirements for lunar bases.
Fly may be incorporated into Nasa’s Artemis programme, which restores astronauts to the sun and reinstates human presence for the first time since 1972.
The space agency has set a target landing date of September 2026 for landing astronauts on the moon’s surface.
