The only space object that has ever been visited by people is the Moon. Humanity has very big plans for it: firstly, astronauts want to return there in the next few years. Then several countries are planning to build lunar stations on its surface so that in the future researchers will have a place to live. Subsequently, laboratories and even mines may appear on the Moon, which will be used for the extraction of minerals. The Moon's diameter is 3,474 kilometers, making it significantly smaller than Earth, but people will still need transportation between stations. In 2022, it became known that roads would be built on the satellite for this purpose. And recently information appeared about the intention to lay railway tracks there. It sounds like something fantastic, but it is already reality!
Contents
- 1 Roads will be built on the Moon
- 2 What kind of cars will drive on the Moon
- 3 Railway on the Moon
- 4 What will be built on the Moon in the future
Roads will be built on the Moon
We talked about the fact that in the future roads for wheeled vehicles may appear on the Moon in the article “NASA will build roads on the Moon for $57 million.” The aerospace agency awarded the contract to ICON, a company best known for its 3D printed houses.
The contract is valid until 2028, that is, we will be able to see the first construction on the Moon in the next few years. It is planned to use lunar soil as a material for roads, because sending huge quantities of asphalt would cost unimaginable money. Roads on the Moon will not be visible from Earth, because their color will be gray and indistinguishable from natural soil. The roads will be smoother and stronger, thanks to which vehicles will move faster and with minimal risk of getting into an accident.
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What cars will drive on the moon
In 2021, the military-industrial company Northrop Grumman Corporation showed an image of a lunar transport. The technical characteristics of the future machine for the Moon are unknown – all that is clear is that it will be able to withstand a weight of up to 500 kilograms.
For the car to drive, astronauts will not have to sit in it. This is because they want to give it a remote control function. This will be convenient if you need to transport goods. There will be little traffic on the Moon, so he is unlikely to encounter any problems. And astronauts will not risk their lives just sitting at the control panel inside one of the lunar stations.
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h2>Railroad on the Moon
Northrop Grumman is not only developing a lunar vehicle. In March 2024, it became known that she began collaborating with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – they want to develop the concept of lunar railways. Many details of the concluded contract are unknown. But it is clear that Northrop Grumman's main tasks are to think through the structure of the future railway and the materials used to create it. The company must also determine how many billions of dollars all this will cost, what problems people might encounter during construction, and whether it will be possible to use robots in the process.
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What will be built on the Moon in the future
In addition to lunar bases and research laboratories, other structures will probably be built on the Earth’s natural satellite. For example, over time, people will probably need installations to launch spacecraft. After all, we should not forget that scientists want to use the Moon as a transit point in missions to fly to Mars and other planets.
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With a very high degree of probability, deep mines will be dug on the Moon for the extraction of minerals. First of all, scientists plan to extract ice, which will become the main source of water. It will be necessary not only for drinking, but also for technical needs. There is also helium-3 on the Moon, which can be used in nuclear energy. Recently, my colleague Andrei Zhukov said that Russia and China will build a nuclear reactor on the Moon.