DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop 'lunar raiload' concept

[Judi Lynn]

By Mike Wall published 22 hours ago

The proposed rail system could help humanity set up shop on the moon.


Railroads could open the moon to serious and sustained economic development, as they did in the American West in the late 19th century.

That's apparently the hope of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is supporting o development of a "lunar railroad" concept proposed by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.

"The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface, contributing to a space economy for the United States and international partners," Northrop Grumman representatives wrote in a press statement on Tuesday (March 19).

Railroads could open the moon to serious and sustained economic development, as they did in the American West in the late 19th century.

That's apparently the hope of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is supporting the development of a "lunar railroad" concept proposed by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.

"The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface, contributing to a space economy for the United States and international partners," Northrop Grumman representatives wrote in a press statement on Tuesday (March 19).

More:
https://www.space.com/darpa-northrop-grumman-moon-railroad

[JoseBalow]

1. I always hoped to see a space elevator

during my lifetime.

[lastlib]

6. Me, too!

Have you read "The Fountains of Paradise"? A very thought-provoking novel!

[JoseBalow]

7. That title seems familiar, but I don't think I've read it

Is there a space elevator in it? It seems like it would be such a fascinating (and useful) project.

[lastlib]

9. Novel by Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

Space elevator is one of the central ideas of the story. Really a fantastic, well-written book (as you would expect from ACC), and makes the elevator idea look quite feasible.

[JoseBalow]

10. Oh, that sounds pretty good!

I added it to my library list. Thanks

[lastlib]

11. .

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Also "Web Between the Worlds" by Charles Sheffield, an astrophysicist.

The Web Between the Worlds is the second science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. It was first published as a trade paperback by Ace Books in 1979, by the first UK edition in hardcover by Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd the following year. Further editions were published by Arrow Books, Ace Books, Del Rey/Ballantyne and others; in 2001 Baen Books issued a revised edition. The novel has also been translated into German and French.[1] This novel and the simultaneously published novel The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke, are the first popularization of the space elevator.[2]
***
Duplicate plot

This novel was published almost simultaneously with The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke. Through an amazing coincidence the two novels contained many similarities. Both protagonists are engineers who have built the world's longest bridge using a machine named the "Spider", both of whom are hired to build a space elevator, and both engineers modify their Spiders to produce a crystalline fiber.

When Baen Books reprinted this novel in 2001, they included an open letter that Clarke wrote in 1979 when the novel was first published. Clarke reassured the world that this similarity was, "A clear case of plagiarism? No—merely an idea whose time has come."[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Web_Between_the_Worlds

Sheffield also discussed bolos and other momentum-transfer devices, and outlined a true 'Web' to match the title.

[Javaman]

12. me too. that would literally change everything about space travel from the earth. nt

[Marcus IM]

2. We'll have railroads on the moon before the US ratifies the UDHR and the ERA.

I wonder if there'll eventually be an Underground Railroad when moon colonists face labor uprisings against corporate?

[JoseBalow]

8. I imagine robots would be the labor of the future

Though I'm sure corporations will find a way to exploit them too!

[2naSalit]

3. Our species...

Will never be able to maintain any living presence off this planet in physical form. It would be nice if all the trillions spent trying to get off the planet were put to use making it better for all, here.

[CloudWatcher]

4. Never?

Never is a very long time. Even longer than waiting for TSF to go to jail.

[2naSalit]

5. More likely than not.

[._.]

15. Never is a long time

Look there is abundant oxygen and water on the Moon. The Helium 3 everyone wants is also abundant and will be used to generate power. Housing and processing can be done underground. All quite feasible, and will be happening in short order. Trust me. There is MONEY to be made.

[2naSalit]

16. Not my point, though...

I'm talking about finding enough oxygen and and food generation that cannot be sustainable nor enough to sustain our physical bodies, it just isn't.

Dreaming of life off the planet is a nice dream but that's all it can ever be with regard to our current physical form.

[dutch777]

13. Unless the moon is it's own economy and manufacturing base, have to get product back to earth at scale. The elevator...

...is a great concept but not sure it can operate at a scale that would be of much use for moon mined raw material. Now if the moon becomes a colony that is the stepping off point for development and deeper exploration of space that makes more sense. The on the moon land transport be that a railroad of trucking seems to be the lesser of all the issues.