NASA has approved further funding for the development of a levitating robot train on the moon, as part of the Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC). This project, known as “Flexible Levitation on a Track” (FLOAT), is one of several futuristic concepts that NASA is exploring in space exploration.
Project leader Ethan Schaler, a robotics engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, envisions creating the first lunar railway system that will provide reliable and efficient transport of materials across the moon’s surface. The FLOAT project could potentially revolutionize transportation on the moon by 2030. The initial design involves magnetic robots levitating over a three-layer film track to minimize abrasion from lunar surface dust. Carts mounted on these robots will move at about 1 mph (1.61 km/h) and could transport up to 100 tons (90 metric tons) of material per day to and from NASA’s future lunar base.
The Artemis mission aims to send astronauts back to the moon as early as 2026, with plans to establish a permanent lunar base that will support future space exploration. Other NIAC projects that have moved to the next development phase include fluid-based telescopes and a plasma-propelled rocket, which are also pushing the boundaries of what is possible in space exploration.