DARPA moon train heralds heated race for lunar supremacy

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and <a href=«https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOC?.tsrc=» https:>Northrop Grumman

plan to build a lunar railway system, setting the stage for a new era of space military operations, exploration and economy.

This month, Defense News reported that DARPA and the US defense contractor are collaborating to create a moon-based railway system to facilitate the transportation of humans, resources and supplies for commercial purposes and promote a space economy for the US and its international partners.

Defense News notes that Northrop Grumman’s work will focus on identifying the interfaces, resources and funding needed to build such a network as well as the technological and logistical risks. The report says the private company will also propose lunar rail system prototypes to explore how the capability could be built and operated.

The effort is part of DARPA’s Lunar Architecture Capability Study (LunA-10), which aims to identify the foundational technologies needed to develop future infrastructure on the moon.

Last December, Northrop Grumman was one of 14 companies DARPA selected to explore concepts to support a future lunar economy by 2035. The studies come as the US, its international partners and commercial firms envision future activity around the moon.

Defense News says that the US Space Force’s interest in the military utility of operations around the moon is also growing, with plans to create a Space Futures Command to validate forward-looking concepts and emerging missions.

The source states that the Space Futures Command’s cislunar work will focus on understanding whether operations in that environment offer military benefits to the service.

In a March 2022