Summary
NASA selected GIMLI, a lunar science payload, to investigate whether the Marius Hills Pit opens into a large underground lava tube. Two other selected payload suites will study lunar ice, surface behaviour and environmental hazards.
NASA has selected three science payload suites to study lunar resources, natural shelters and environmental hazards as groundwork for its Moon Base programme. One, GIMLI, will investigate whether the Marius Hills Pit leads to a large underground lava tube. NASA announced the selections on Sept. 30, 2026, through its Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) programme; the payloads are to reach the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
GIMLI will investigate a possible underground shelter
The Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation (GIMLI) payload is planned for deployment at the Marius Hills Pit. It will scan beneath the lunar surface to determine whether the pit connects to a large lava tube, helping researchers study the Moon’s volcanic history.
Lava tubes form when flowing lava leaves a channel or cavity as the surrounding material cools and solidifies. If a substantial tube is accessible from the pit, it could offer future astronauts shelter from the Moon’s temperature extremes and harmful radiation. NASA also identifies protection from micrometeoroid impacts as a potential benefit. Those possibilities make the investigation relevant to habitat planning, but the connection itself is what GIMLI is intended to test—not an established shelter.
The payload is one part of a broader effort to gather information before sustained human activity on the Moon. NASA describes the selected investigations as supporting safer surface operations and preparations for a long-term lunar presence.
Three payloads target different lunar risks and resources
The other two selections address environmental monitoring and the use of lunar resources. The autonomous Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole (LEMS-SP) is designed as a long-term monitoring station. It will track falling micrometeoroids and the abundance of volatiles—materials that can readily become gas—in the Moon’s thin outer layer of gases. Its short-period seismometer will detect seismic events, contributing to hazard assessments for Moon Base hardware.
The Depth Imager with Spectral and Color Optics (DISCO) will make what NASA describes as the first direct, on-the-ground measurements of ice hidden in lunar micro-cold traps. It will also study how the surface responds to rocket exhaust and how stable it is for movement across the terrain. Together, these measurements are intended to help locate and estimate ice and inform surface operations and future efforts to use lunar resources.
The three investigations address complementary questions: whether natural underground spaces could provide shelter, where useful ice is found, and what environmental conditions equipment may face. NASA says the selections will fly through CLPS as part of the Moon Base programme. Its announcement describes planned investigations; GIMLI has not yet established whether the Marius Hills Pit opens into a large lava tube.