NASA Backs Project To Explore Mysterious Hole On The Moon

The GIMLI payload will employ a multi-sensor approach, providing researchers an opportunity to examine Marius Hill Pit directly from the lunar surface.

05 Oct 2026, 14:03 · NDTV

NASA has officially backed a new exploration project to determine whether a famous pit on the Moon leads into a vast, subterranean lava tube. The project, titled GIMLI (Geophysical Investigation of the Marius Hills Pit Lava Tube and Interior), is led by the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) as part of NASA's Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) programme. The mission will focus on the Marius Hills Pit (MHP), a prominent lunar hole measuring approximately 34 meters deep and 65 by 90 meters across, located in an ancient volcanic region on the lunar nearside.

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"GIMLI represents the type of ambitious planetary science that PSI was built to pursue," PSI Director and CEO Amanda Hendrix said as quoted by Science Direct.

"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."

The existence of the pit was confirmed by the satellite imagery, but the scientists don't have enough data to prove whether the void extends into a long underground cave system.

To confirm this, the GIMLI payload will employ a multi-sensor approach, providing researchers an opportunity to examine Marius Hill Pit directly from the lunar surface.

GIMLI will combine ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors, and a gravimeter. Cameras will also photograph the lunar surface and the exposed walls of the pit.

The scientists will use data from these instruments to search for an underground void extending from MHP, if it exists.

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"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," shared Putzig.

"Combining that method with ground-penetrating radar and gravity measurements makes it all the more exciting, as these methods together will allow us to get a much better understanding of subsurface properties, including the anticipated detection of a lava tube extending away from the Marius Hills pit."

Subterranean lava tubes formed billions of years ago during the Moon's active volcanic phase. The GIMLI mission aims to find surface environments on the Moon that experience extreme temperature swings, micrometeorite impacts, and harsh solar and cosmic radiation.

Intact lava tubes could serve as natural, structurally sound shelters for long-term human outposts. Apart from that, analysing the interior rock layers of these structures could offer scientists a look into the Moon's thermal and volcanic history.

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