Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation (GIMLI)¶
PRISM selections of 30 Sept 2026 (no delivery yet) · manifested · NASA payload
A geophysics suite to find out whether the Marius Hills Pit, a large hole in a volcanic region on the near side, opens into an underground lava tube, and if so how big it is. It combines an active-source seismic system, ground-penetrating radar and a gravimeter, with cameras imaging the surface and the pit walls, carried on a CLPS-provided lander and rover. PSI says active-source seismic work has not been done on the Moon since Apollo. NASA's release gives no lander or date.
PI: Nathaniel (Than) Putzig (PSI); deputy PI Gareth Morgan (PSI)
Built by: Planetary Science Institute (lead). Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, is the commercial partner: project management, the active-source seismic system, gravimeter and cameras, and integration onto the lander and rover. The Norwegian Space Agency provides the ground-penetrating radar. Co-investigators from Boise State, Johns Hopkins, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the University of Oslo. (other)
| Technology | science instrument suite (subsurface geophysics: active seismic, ground-penetrating radar, gravimetry) |
| Moon Base need | none named (NASA names a Moon Base purpose: lava tubes could shelter astronauts from temperature extremes, radiation and micrometeoroids, and 'Confirming these void spaces now could shift future habitat planning'. But the knowledge base finds no data or tech gap on subsurface voids, and ADD Rev C, the Users Guide, the gap spreadsheets and the white papers don't mention lava tubes. NASA's technology page lists 'exploration of subsurface voids such as lava tubes' under autonomous systems. The site is on the near side, not at the South Pole where the Moon Base is planned. So the needs list is empty (the study's reading).) |
| Route onto CLPS | PRISM; Selected through SMD's PRISM program on 30 September 2026 to fly on CLPS as part of the Moon Base Program. NASA corrected GIMLI's full name on 2 October 2026. No task order, lander, rover, date or cost cap is named.; 2026-09-30 |
| Timeline | first funding not in public sources; first flight test not in public sources; selected 2026-09-30; launch not in public sources; landing not in public sources |
| On the Moon | not yet flown |
| FO | company-level |
Flights before the Moon¶
None found in the public sources.
Heritage hardware¶
- method heritage (Apollo active seismic): The last active-source seismic surveys on the Moon were done by Apollo astronauts, per the PI. GIMLI brings the method back, on a lander and rover instead of astronauts.
"It's long been a desire of mine to reintroduce intentional active-source seismic methods to planetary science, as it has essentially not been done since the Apollo astronauts conducted the first seismic surveys on the Moon"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…
- instrument heritage (not in public sources): Which radar design Norway provides, and what Honeybee's seismic source, gravimeter and cameras are based on, is not stated. No TechPort project, NTRS paper or SBIR award for these instruments was found. The team says it has studied the question 'from orbit'.
"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"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…, PSI's director
Funding before the lunar flight¶
- NASA PRISM award to PSI: selected 30 September 2026; no award yet in USAspending, and no amount or cost cap public. The Norwegian Space Agency's radar contribution has no public amount. No earlier NASA award names GIMLI. (NASA SMD PRISM; Norwegian Space Agency; from 2026): amount not in public sources
"The PSI work will be carried out in partnership with the Norwegian Space Agency."
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…
How it got onto CLPS¶
"will fly to the lunar surface using the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative as part of the agency's Moon Base Program"
— NASA Adds New Science Investigations for Moon Base - NASA"The project will be funded through NASA's Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…
On the Moon¶
Selected for a CLPS delivery with no task order, lander, rover or date yet. Even without a lava tube, the team expects to learn how the pit formed and the layering of lava flows in its walls.
"Even if GIMLI does not find a cave or lava tube beneath the surface, the results and data could still help answer an important question: How did the pit form?"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…
FO's role¶
Grade: company-level. No FO flight of GIMLI or its instruments. Honeybee Robotics, which builds GIMLI's seismic system, gravimeter and cameras and integrates the suite, leads several FO projects: PlanetVac on Masten's landers (89413, 106599, 106671), the Asteroid Soil Strength Evaluation Tool (106621), H-BEE for molten regolith (106632) and the POCCET dust-removal tool (145004). These are sampling, soil-strength and dust technologies, not seismic sources or gravimeters, so this is a company-level link (same company, different technology), not related. PSI itself is only a supporting organization on one FO project (LuSTR, 158644) with other people, an organization-only link the study does not count. The study's earlier traceback predates this selection.
FO flights: 0. No FO investment in GIMLI found in public sources. FO's spending on Honeybee's projects is in FO records and is not GIMLI's.
"Honeybee Robotics PlanetVac on Masten Lander"
— TechPort project 89413, title (FO; lead Honeybee Robotics)"Asteroid Soil Strength Evaluation Tool (ASSET)"
— TechPort project 106621, title (FO; lead Honeybee Robotics)"PUFFER-Oriented Compact Cleaning and Excavation Tool (POCCET) Dust Removal Tool"
— TechPort project 145004, title (FO; lead Honeybee Robotics)"Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, will serve as a commercial partner to PSI"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…
Who built it¶
"Principal Investigator: Dr. Nathaniel Putzig, Planetary Science Institute"
— NASA Adds New Science Investigations for Moon Base - NASA, 30 Sep 2026"providing project management services and building the instrumentation for the active-source seismic system, gravimeter, and cameras"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…, PSI, 1 Oct 2026"with the ground penetrating radar being provided by the Norwegian Space Agency"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…"PSI Senior Scientist and Deputy Principal Investigator on the GIMLI program"
— PSI-led team selected for NASA PRISM program to explore potential lunar cave - Planetary Science…, Gareth Morgan
Moon Base need¶
"Confirming these void spaces now could shift future habitat planning"
— NASA Adds New Science Investigations for Moon Base - NASA"No data gap covers subsurface voids. The site is not at the South Pole."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Architecture data gaps: all 25"ADD Rev C, the Users Guide, the gap spreadsheets and the white papers don't mention lava tubes"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: The Moon Base site environment"exploration of subsurface voids such as lava tubes"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Lunar surface technology for the Moon Base
Open questions¶
- Which ground-penetrating radar does Norway provide, and has its design flown? Not in public sources.
- What are the active-source seismic system and gravimeter based on, and have they been tested in flight or in reduced gravity? Not in public sources.
- Which lander and rover, which date, and how will the rover approach the pit edge? Not yet named.
- What is GIMLI's cost cap? Not in the release.