United States | Science & Space, Technology & Innovation
Information checked on 8 October 2026.
NASA has selected three new lunar science investigations to support its plans for sustained human activity on the Moon. Announced on 30 September 2026, the selections address practical questions about hazards, underground spaces and local resources.
The work will help researchers examine what future crews and equipment may encounter beyond a short surface visit. A lasting outpost needs a dependable understanding of the ground beneath it, the surrounding environment and the resources that might be available nearby.
The announcement concerns the selection of scientific payloads for future delivery. Their measurements and results will follow development, transport and successful operation on the Moon.
How the Lunar Science Investigations Will Reach the Moon
The selections were made through PRISM, NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon programme.
They are intended to travel through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), the initiative through which NASA buys delivery services from American companies.
CLPS contracts can cover the complete delivery process, including integration of instruments, launch, landing and mission operations. This allows scientific teams to concentrate on their investigations while commercial providers supply the transport and supporting services.
The approach also gives companies opportunities to develop lunar delivery capabilities. Success depends on the full system: a suitable instrument must reach its destination, receive power, communicate and continue collecting useful data.
LEMS-SP: Monitoring the Environment Around a Future Outpost
The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole (LEMS-SP) is led by Mehdi Benna of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Designed for autonomous, long-term monitoring, it will observe micrometeoroids, volatile substances in the Moon’s thin exosphere and seismic activity. Its equipment includes a short-period seismometer.
Volatiles are substances that can readily become gases. Tracking them helps characterise an environment that changes over time.
The seismic work builds on a well-established scientific concern. Instruments deployed during Apollo showed that the Moon experiences quakes. NASA identifies several causes, including Earth’s gravitational pull, cooling and contraction of the lunar interior, impacts and temperature changes near the surface.
For engineers, measurements of ground motion can help assess the conditions that structures and equipment may need to withstand.
Continuous monitoring is particularly useful when planning equipment intended to remain in place for extended periods. A brief observation cannot capture every condition that may occur during a longer mission.
GIMLI: Investigating What Lies Beneath the Marius Hills Pit
The Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation (GIMLI), led by Nathaniel “Than” Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute, will examine a possible lava tube beneath the Marius Hills Pit.
The team plans to use ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors, a gravimeter and cameras to search for a cavity, estimate its dimensions and study exposed geological layers.
Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, will build several instruments and support integration and operations. The Norwegian Space Agency will provide the ground-penetrating radar.
The pit investigation retains scientific value even if a large cave is not found. Its measurements could help explain how the opening formed and improve understanding of the region’s volcanic history.
Why Lunar Caves Interest Mission Planners
Lava tubes can form when the surface of a lava flow cools and hardens while molten material continues moving beneath it. When the flow drains, a hollow space may remain. A roof collapse can expose part of that space as a pit.
Rock above an underground cavity could provide protection from radiation, micrometeoroid impacts and large temperature changes.
NASA-funded research using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data has previously identified relatively stable thermal conditions in shaded parts of lunar pits. That provides a reason to investigate these environments more closely.
A cave’s existence would still leave substantial engineering questions. Planners would need to assess access, rock stability, communications and the practical installation of equipment.
GIMLI’s target at Marius Hills is geographically separate from the lunar south pole. Its findings would contribute to wider knowledge of lunar environments and possible habitat options.
DISCO: Examining Ice and Surface Conditions
The Depth Imager with Spectral and Color Optics (DISCO) is led by Ariel Deutsch of NASA’s Ames Research Center.
It will investigate ice in lunar micro-cold traps and examine surface behaviour, including rocket-exhaust disturbance and conditions relevant to mobility.
Micro-cold traps are small areas cold enough to retain ice. Their significance comes partly from the uneven nature of the lunar surface.
Rocks, slopes and small depressions create different patterns of illumination and shadow. NASA research has examined how these local conditions can allow cold areas to exist near warmer terrain and influence where frost accumulates.
Surface measurements can help test how well observations and models describe these small environments. The result could improve understanding of both the location of ice and the conditions surrounding it.
Finding Ice Is One Part of Using It
Water is attractive to exploration planners because it could support people and, after processing, provide oxygen and hydrogen for other uses, including propulsion.
However, a useful resource assessment needs to establish more than its presence.
NASA’s lunar resource research identifies several practical questions: how much water is available, how it is distributed, its physical form and whether it can be accessed.
Ice mixed through soil creates different extraction challenges from a concentrated deposit. Depth, temperature and the surrounding material also influence what equipment would be required.
For future missions, resource measurements would need to be considered alongside power availability, transport and processing requirements.
This makes detailed characterisation valuable. It can help determine whether a location merits further exploration and what a realistic extraction demonstration should attempt.
Why Rocket Exhaust Matters for Moon Base Operations
Repeated landings introduce another challenge: spacecraft can disturb the environment around existing equipment.
Rocket exhaust interacts with lunar regolith, the layer of loose dust and rock covering the surface. Material thrown outward can affect the landing vehicle and nearby assets.
NASA is studying these processes on Earth as well. In an August 2026 update, the agency described testing at Langley Research Center using a large vacuum chamber and simulated lunar soil.
Those tests measure effects such as crater formation and the movement of material displaced by exhaust. Researchers use the findings to improve models and inform hardware design.
Measurements collected on the Moon could add evidence from the actual operating environment. Together, laboratory experiments, simulations and surface observations can support better decisions about landing operations and equipment placement.
What These Investigations Could Contribute to Planning
The practical value lies in connecting scientific observations with decisions about future surface operations.
| Planning question | Evidence that could help |
|---|---|
| What conditions must equipment withstand? | Environmental monitoring and measurements of ground motion |
| Could an underground location offer useful protection? | Information about subsurface geometry, access and surrounding geology |
| Where should resource exploration focus? | Measurements of ice distribution and local surface conditions |
| How should landings be managed near other equipment? | Evidence about exhaust-driven erosion and displaced material |
These applications are planning implications. The selected investigations must first produce reliable data before mission designers can assess their findings.
What the Announcement Establishes and What Comes Next
NASA’s September release does not specify launch dates, delivery providers or individual budgets for all three selected investigations.
The next substantive updates will concern instrument development, delivery arrangements and the conditions under which each investigation will operate.
After deployment, the usefulness of the work will depend on measurement quality, duration and how representative the results are of the environments future missions may encounter.
The selection advances a necessary stage of lunar exploration: replacing assumptions about unfamiliar terrain with observations. For a future Moon base, that evidence could influence where equipment is placed, how resources are investigated and how crews conduct their work.
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