NASA is no longer just visiting the Moon — it’s preparing to move in. The agency has selected three scientific investigations tasked with solving the most basic problems of lunar survival: where to shelter, where to find water, and what dangers lie waiting on the surface.
Together, they represent a methodical scouting mission for humanity’s first permanent outpost — one that begins not with construction crews, but with instruments listening for moonquakes, peering into ancient underground tunnels, and searching frozen craters for hidden ice.
Three missions, one shared goal
NASA selected all three investigations through its PRISM (Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon) program. Delivery to the lunar surface will happen through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative — a partnership with American companies — as part of the broader Moon Base Program. Each payload targets a distinct survival challenge: natural shelter, water resources, and environmental hazards.
The findings won’t stay on the Moon. Results will feed directly into the Artemis and Moon Base programs and inform long-term planning for crewed Mars missions. As NASA associate administrator Nicky Fox put it, the agency is building “the ultimate interplanetary survival guide.”
Listening for moonquakes: the LEMS-SP hazard monitor
The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole (LEMS-SP) will operate autonomously near the lunar south pole over an extended period, continuously tracking conditions that could threaten future infrastructure. At its core is a short-period seismometer designed to detect vibrations and moonquakes — seismic events capable of damaging structures or disrupting sensitive equipment.
The station will also monitor micrometeoroid impacts. Because the Moon lacks a meaningful atmosphere, incoming debris doesn’t burn up before hitting the surface, making even small fragments a genuine risk to habitats and hardware. Volatile abundance in the lunar exosphere — the Moon’s extremely thin outer gas layer — will be measured as well, helping scientists understand how the lunar environment shifts over time. Dr. Mehdi Benna of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, leads the investigation.
Into the pit: hunting for underground lava tubes with GIMLI
The Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation (GIMLI) will focus on the Marius Hills Pit, a surface opening that may connect to a vast underground lava tube. Lava tubes form when the outer crust of flowing lava hardens while molten rock drains away beneath, leaving hollow tunnels behind. GIMLI will use geophysical measurements to determine whether a larger passage exists below the pit and to illuminate the volcanic history that created it.
If confirmed, these underground spaces could matter enormously for habitat planning. The lunar surface endures extreme temperature swings, intense radiation, and constant micrometeoroid strikes — a lava tube offers natural shielding from all of it, potentially reducing the engineering burden of surface-built habitats and reshaping where NASA places its first permanent outpost. Dr. Nathaniel Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute leads the effort.
Frozen in the dark: DISCO and the search for lunar ice
The DISCO (Depth Imager with Spectral and Color Optics) payload will attempt something never done before: making direct surface measurements of ice inside micro-cold traps — small, permanently shadowed pockets that stay cold enough for ice to persist. Mapping the location, quantity, and distribution of that ice will help scientists determine whether it can realistically serve as a local water supply. Hauling water from Earth is extraordinarily expensive, and accessible lunar ice could change that equation entirely.
The resource potential goes further still. Water ice can be processed into oxygen and hydrogen, covering both life support and potential propellant needs. DISCO will also study how rocket exhaust disturbs the lunar soil during landing and assess terrain stability for the safe movement of astronauts and rovers. Dr. Ariel Deutsch of NASA’s Ames Research Center leads the investigation.
From Moon base to Mars: the bigger picture
Taken together, LEMS-SP, GIMLI, and DISCO address the pillars any permanent human outpost requires: safety, shelter, and resources. Their results will influence habitat placement, equipment design, and resource-extraction systems across the Moon Base Program. NASA is accelerating the pace of lunar missions through its CLPS partnerships, aiming to increase the frequency of payload deliveries to both the surface and orbit.
The knowledge gained is explicitly intended as a stepping stone toward Mars. Understanding how to protect astronauts from moonquakes, house them in natural geological formations, and supply them with locally sourced water and oxygen — these are lessons that don’t stop at the lunar surface. What these scouts discover in the coming years may quietly determine where, and how, humans first set foot on another planet.
More information is available here: NASA. “NASA is searching for hidden caves to build its first Moon base.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 October 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com
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