DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop a ‘lunar railroad’ concept

Railroads could open the Moon to serious and sustained economic development, just as they did in the American West in the late 19th century. That’s apparently the hope of the US 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

19 March.

Northrop Grumman was one of 14 companies that DARPA selected this past December to participate in its 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, which aims to help humanity extend its economic footprint into deep space. “A large paradigm shift is coming in the next ten years for the lunar economy,” Michael Nayak, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, said last August, when the agency announced the LunA-10 project.

“To get to a turning point faster, LunA-10 uniquely aims to identify solutions that can enable multi-mission lunar systems – imagine a wireless power station that can also provide communications and navigation in its beam,” Nayak said. Such work, he added, will accelerate “key technologies that may be used by the government and the commercial space industry, and ultimately to catalyse economic vibrancy on the Moon.”

Northrop Grumman’s statement did not provide funding details. DARPA gives a ballpark number in its August 2023 announcement, stating that selected studies “will receive an Other Transaction award not to exceed $1,000,000 (around £795,000).” The selected LunA-10 companies will share their work at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Spring Meeting next month and write up final reports that will be

released in June.