NASA greenlights mission to probe Moon’s Marius Hill Pit for hidden lava tube

NASA has selected the Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation (GIMLI) to explore the Marius Hill Pit in the Moon’s volcanically diverse Marius Hills region. Led by the Planetary Science Institute, the mission will be delivered by a Commercial Lunar Payload Services lander and rover, carrying ground-penetrating radar, active-source seismic equipment, a gravimeter and imaging cameras to detect any underground void such as a lava tube.

Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, will build and operate the instruments, while the Norwegian Space Agency supplies the radar. Confirming a substantial lava tube would provide insight into lunar basaltic volcanism and could serve as a natural shelter for astronauts. If no cavity exists, the measurements will still clarify how the pit formed and shed light on the layered regolith and lava flows exposed on its walls. The investigation also involves scientists from Boise State University, Johns Hopkins University, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the University of Oslo.