What new methods can be developed to explore lava caves on the Moon? This is what a new NASA-approved mission hopes to address as a team of researchers from the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) proposed a new method for exploring lunar lava caves. This proposal has the potential to help scientists, engineers, and future astronauts use new methods for exploring the Moon’s subsurface environment.
For the project, NASA selected GIMLI (Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation), whose primary mission objective will be to explore the size of the subsurface lava caves compared to the small entrance holes on the surface. GIMLI’s primary location will be the Moon’s Marius Hills Pit, with the Marius Hills consisting of large volcanic domes averaging several hundred feet in height. The pit was discovered in 2009 by discovered in 2009 by Japan's SELENE (Kaguya) spacecraft and its opening’s width measures about 213 feet (65 meters) with an estimated depth of about 111 to 131 feet (34 to 40 meters). The primary conundrum has been trying to ascertain whether this pit expands into a larger cavern beneath the surface.
To accomplish this, GIMLI, which will comprise a lander and ro...