America plans to build a railway on the Moon

The lunar railway network could carry people, supplies and resources for trade and contribute to the space economy.

Simulation of the railway system on the Moon. (Photo: DALL-E3).

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) chose aerospace and defense technology corporation Northrop Grumman to develop the idea of ​​building a railway on the Moon. This is part of the larger 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) study that DARPA announced last year with the participation of 14 other companies, Interesting Engineering reported on March 20.

More than 50 years since the last Apollo mission, America wants to send astronauts back to the Moon. However, the Artemis program aims not only to land on the Moon but also to establish an inhabited base and fly further to Mars. While NASA focuses on preparing for humans to set foot on the Moon, DARPA looks at what comes after.

With the LunA-10 project, DARPA hopes to identify solutions to create multi-mission systems on the Moon. For example, unlike a power plant that performs only one activity on Earth, a lunar power station also serves as a positioning and communication center while transmitting electricity wirelessly. In December last year, DARPA announced 14 companies participating in the project, including big names like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Northrop Grumman was the first company to reveal its role in the project and will develop the lunar railway concept. Just as the advent of railroads in the 19th century helped increase economic activity in the American west, new technology is expected to enable and sustain economic development on the surface of the Moon. According to the company, the lunar railway network could transport people, supplies and resources for commercial projects, contributing to the space economy for the US and international partners.

Currently, Northrop Grumman is only in charge of a limited part of the plan, such as identifying resources to build the rail network. This will help identify technical and logistical risks in the project and estimate costs. The contractor will also develop prototypes, design analysis and architectural requirements if the project becomes fully operational in the future. In the next stage, the company will explore the idea of ​​building, installing rails, aligning and operating the system, and applying robots in maintenance and repair.