It takes 2 minutes to go from Earth to the Moon.

A Canadian engineer has proposed a space train that could take humans to the Moon in just over two minutes at a speed of 3,000 km/s.

Design of the Solar Express space train. Photo: Solar Express.

According to Forbes, Charles Bombardier, a famous engineer from Montreal, Canada, came up with the idea of ​​designing a futuristic train called Solar Express that can carry goods and passengers between space stations and celestial bodies in the universe.

The train, designed by Bombardier in collaboration with industrial engineer Olivier Péraldi, willuse gravity to travel between planets,maintain the same motion as the ladder pulling the skater up the slope.

The train consists of a series of 50-meter-long cylinders installed end-to-end, each divided into four freight cars that can be relocated by maintenance robots. Bombardier also envisions building a large city in space that rotates around the train's axis of motion with artificial gravity that would allow people to travel and live there if the journey lasts several months.

The shape and function of each train car can vary. Rest areas are concentrated in the middle of the train, where gravity has less effect. The center also has a zero-gravity zone for experiments.

The train will launch into space using a rocket and use reserve fuel to adjust its direction when needed. The speed of the train will depend on its size and purpose, but it can reach a maximum speed of up to 3,000 km/s, equivalent to 1% of the speed of light.

“In space, the most expensive phases of travel are acceleration and deceleration. The energy required to perform these phases is enormous, but once the craft reaches cruising speed, energy consumption is at its lowest,” Bombardier explains.

Not only are the train fitted with reinforced shields on its front and rear, it is also escorted by a fleet of drones equipped with missiles and laser guns to destroy any meteors that threaten to derail it.

Solar energy from panels lined up along the train's route could power lights and other electrical appliances, while water for passengers would come from comets and the moon. "Water could also be used to create hydrogen and propellant," Bombardier said.

There is no limit to the maximum distance the train can travel. Bombardier plans to make its first trip carrying cargo and passengers from Earth to the Moon. At 3,000 km/s, the Solar Express will take just 2.13 minutes to reach the Moon.

"The Moon serves as a launching pad for other projects, as assembling and building such trains would be easier in a place without gravity. Mars is a more likely destination in the next phase, especially if humans can colonize that planet," Bombardier shared.

According to VNE