NASA plans to build a floating robot train on the Moon, essential for a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s.
NASA has announced ambitious plans to construct a levitating robot train system on the lunar surface, crucial for the sustainable operation of a future lunar base in the 2030s. As part of their preparations to return astronauts to the moon, the space agency detailed the project called “Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT)” in a recent blog post. This innovative “robotic transport system” is designed to support the activities of astronauts visiting the moon.
“We aim to build the first lunar railway system to provide reliable, autonomous, and efficient payload transport on the Moon,” stated Ethan Schaler, a robotics expert at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). “A durable, long-life robotic transport system will be critical to the daily operations of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s,” he added.
The FLOAT system, intended for machinery only, will feature magnetic robots levitating over a three-layer film track to minimize dust abrasion. These robots, capable of carrying carts, will move at approximately 1.61 kilometers per hour, transporting up to 100 tons of material daily to and from the lunar base.
NASA explained that the FLOAT will transport loads of lunar soil and other materials across active areas of the moon, as well as larger loads of equipment to and from spacecraft landing zones. The system is designed to operate autonomously in the moon’s dusty, harsh environment with minimal site preparation, and its tracks can be reconfigured over time to meet evolving mission requirements.
Engineers at NASA’s JPL in California are already developing and testing components of the FLOAT system. This transport system is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, with a target landing date set for September 2026.
