Northrop Grumman studies how to build a railroad on the moon
by Garth Meyer For untold generations, man has looked up at the moon in wonder. Soon man may look up and wonder, “How is the economy up there?” Northrop Grumman, in a new endeavor with DARPA (U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is studying how to build a railroad on the moon. The train would haul lunar soil and extracted metals, even ice for drinking water, or to separate its hydrogen to power rockets to Mars. “Supporting mining on the moon,” is how Steven Floyd, Redondo Beach Northrop Grumman program manager, described the project, part of an international plan for a “lunar economy” by 2035. The scale and length of the railroad has yet to be determined. “From tens, to potentially hundreds of kilometers,” Floyd said. The seven-month probe is led by Northrop Grumman’s Redondo Beach space sector, with help from other branches of the company. “This is a concept study,” Floyd said. “Looking at potential designs, processes to be used, and (means of) construction… All commercial uses. More will be disclosed, but we can’t reveal exactly what, at this point.” The DARPA contract asks Northrop Grumman to determine what resources and interfaces would best be used to build a lunar…
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