These are the ambitious plans of the United States

The American agency DARPA plans to build infrastructure on the moon. A railway system will be constructed as part of this project.

Some unusual things are likely to happen on Earth's satellite in the near future. NASA's Artemis mission is expected to land humans on the moon in 2026 for the first time in more than 50 years. This should be just the beginning.

In the future, infrastructure will also be built on the Moon. For example, huge lighthouses were planned on the surface of the Earth's satellite – and now a whole railway system will be built. Both ideas come from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). DARPA is an agency of the US Department of Defense that, among other things, plans space projects.

Both projects are part of the “10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10)” – a large project aimed at building infrastructure on the Moon. Defense company Northrop Grumman has now been commissioned to plan concepts for the railway network.

As the company explained in a press release, the trains could be used to transport people, supplies and resources for commercial projects across the lunar surface, “contributing to the space economy of the United States and international partners.”

In order to plan a lunar railway network, Northrop Grumman will have to negotiate different things. On the one hand, the resources needed for such a huge task must be analysed. This also includes calculating costs as well as technological and logistical risks. In addition, prototypes of the railway network and vehicles must be designed.

Last but not least, the railway network must also be built. The company wants to develop concepts for this purpose. To build rails, the foundation must be leveled and prepared, and the tracks must be properly laid and aligned. Robots will likely be used here.