All aboard the space train – DARPA has tasked defense contractor Northrop Grumman with finding out what would be needed for a rail network on the moon.
The Great Lunar Railroad: DARPA/Northrop Grumman Project.
Northrop Grumman announced its selection by DARPA yesterday, describing the defense agency's vision for a lunar rover as one that could carry people, supplies and resources for future commercial ventures on Earth's natural satellite.
The Lunar rail project is part of DARPA's 10-year Lunar Architecture project (LunA-10) which aims to develop scalable, interoperable standards and systems for a permanent human presence on the Moon. Northrop is one of 14 companies that DARPA has tasked with working on various aspects of the project.
For its work on a lunar rover concept, Northrop Grumman will research what kind of interface and resources would be needed to build it, determine how much it would cost and the logistical risks, identify prototypes and explore design concepts.
