NASA has selected a Planetary Science Institute–led proposal to investigate whether a potentially large underground cave extends beyond the opening of a lunar pit. Such a cave may one day provide a safe haven for astronauts to escape the radiation and extreme temperature swings present at the lunar surface.

Led by PSI associate director and senior scientist Than Putzig, the selected project is the Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation, or GIMLI. PSI is partnering with Honeybee Robotics, which will build much of the equipment and instrumentation for the effort. The equipment and instrumentation will be carried on a lander and rover provided through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The PSI work will be carried out in partnership with the Norwegian Space Agency.

“GIMLI represents the type of ambitious planetary science that PSI was built to pursue,” said PSI director and CEO Amanda Hendrix. “Than and his team are taking a scientific question we’ve been studying from orbit and have developed a way to investigate it directly on the moon. We’re excited to have PSI leading this effort and to be partnering with NASA and Honeybee Robotics to learn more about the moon and its volcanic past.”