Nasa unveils 'ambitious projects' including lunar railroad system

Nasa has unveiled ambitious projects and specified funding that are termed by the agency as "science fiction-like concepts", under its Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC).

Despite the high-end commitment, the success of these ambitions remains obscure but the experts are hoping that it would be a great leap forward, according to a statement from Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The projects that have transcended the initial phase of NIAC and entered into the next phase of conceptual research studies include a lunar railroad system, a large fluid-based telescope observatory, and a transport system to move cargo to Mars, among others.

As much as $600,000 will given for research in the concepts for the next two years.

John Nelson, NIAC programme executive at Nasa said: "Our NIAC fellows never cease to amaze and inspire, and this class definitely gives Nasa a lot to think about in terms of what's possible in the future."

Under the FLUTE project, Nasa envisions establishing observatories with a large aperture, or unsegmented liquid primary mirrors.

The Pulsed Plasma Rocket project aims to reduce travel distance from Mars to Earth with an innovative propulsion system.

The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths would allow astronomers to measure the magnetic fields of exoplanets and the cosmic dark ages.

Six ambitious sci-fi Nasa projects:

• Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the Next Generation of Large Space Observatories 
• Pulsed Plasma Rocket: Shielded, Fast Transits for Humans to Mars is an innovative propulsion system 
• The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW)
• Radioisotope Thermoradiative Cell Power Generator
• FLOAT: Flexible Levitation on a Track
• ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration