NASA has announced a mission to establish if there are large underground caves on the Moon.
The so-called GIMLI payload will be deployed at the Marius Hills Pit on the lunar surface to hunt for subterranean lava tubes.
“The payload will scan beneath the Moon’s surface to see whether the Marius Hills Pit leads into a large underground lava tube,” NASA said in a statement.
“If it does, these natural underground spaces could offer future astronauts ready‑made protection from extreme temperatures and harmful radiation – important groundwork for safe, long‑term living on the Moon.”
NASA said that confirming these void spaces could shift future habitat planning – offering natural, ready-made shelters for future manned Moon activity.
The cave mission is one of three NASA scientific investigations announced over the past week to help prepare for a manned Moon base.
NASA Associate Administrator Nicky Fox said NASA Science was building “the ultimate interplanetary survival guide”.
“(This will) ensure that science goes first to the lunar surface to provide our future astronaut crews with the vital information, resources, and safety precautions needed ahead of time to survive the night on the Moon,” she said.
“These PRISM selections will directly help NASA minimize risks to our astronauts while maximizing our agency goals as we set up humanity’s first lunar outpost in preparation for sending the first astronauts to Mars.”
The three missions are:
Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole
The autonomous LEMS-SP instrument suite will serve as a long-term environmental and hazard monitoring station.
Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation
The GIMLI payload will be deployed at the Marius Hills Pit on the lunar surface to hunt for subterranean lava tubes and aid in our understanding of fundamental lunar volcanic processes.
Depth Imager with Spectral and Color Optics
The DISCO payload will provide the first direct, on-the-ground measurements of ice hidden in lunar micro-cold traps and also will lay the groundwork for lunar resource utilisation and surface operations.
Full details are here