NASA’s latest project, FLOAT, is a unique solution to transportation challenges on the Moon. Led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the project involves robots that use “paramagnetic lifting” technology to hover on the Moon’s rails and transport 100 tons of material daily.
The system will be built with a rail system that utilizes magnetic robots to move regolith, the soil layer on the Moon’s surface, in order to extract materials for use by astronauts or lunar bases. The robots operate without a power supply and can hover above the rails thanks to “diamagnetic lift” technology, minimizing abrasion from lunar dust at a speed of 1.6 km/h.
John Nelson, director of NASA’s NIAC program, is excited about the diverse and innovative projects included in phase II studies. He believes that these projects provide valuable insights into future possibilities for space exploration. FLOAT represents a cutting-edge solution to transportation challenges on the Moon and has the potential to revolutionize how materials are moved in space environments.
