Lanzarote as moon lab: researchers test methods for resource exploration

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Could there be water ice and cave-like structures on the moon that can be used as resources on future lunar missions? A research team from LMU and the Institute of Communications and Navigation at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is addressing these questions in the NEPOS (Near-Surface Seismic Exploration of Planetary Bodies with Adaptive Networks) project.

The LMU members of the project are Heiner Igel, Professor of Geophysics and Seismology, along with postdocs Sabrina Keil and Dominic Strutz. In collaboration with the DLR team led by Kai Nierula, Ban-Sok Shin, and Dmitriy Shutin, they are working on the development of seismic measuring techniques and adaptive sensor networks for the exploration of lunar structures. The goal of the project is to locate features such as lava caves and water ice beneath the moon’s surface in the future.

Lava caves and ice

Lunar lava caves could offer protection against radiation, micrometeorites, and temperature fluctuations, while ice could serve as drinking water and provide the source material for oxygen and fuel on future missions. In addition, water is a witness to the early solar system and thus extremely interesting for researchers. Locating such resources on the moon requires suitable systems and techniques. These forward-looking questions are currently the focus of much research.

“Exploration of the near-surface structures of the moon (and of Mars and other planetary objects) is a top priority for future manned and unmanned missions. It’s important, therefore, to develop optimal experimental approaches to practice seismic tomography as efficiently as possible,” says Igel.

NEPOS: measurements under moon-analog outdoor conditions

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In a recent measurement campaign on Lanzarote, the research team from LMU and DLR investigated passive seismic methods for the exploration of lava caves as part of the NEPOS project. These caves on the island of Lanzarote have lunar-analog structures and thus pose similar challenges for the applied measurement techniques.

Different types of rock conduct waves at different speeds. This is exploited by seismic measurement methods, which model the varying rate of propagation. In this way, they can detect structures like cavities or materials with certain physical or chemical properties beneath the surface. Passive measuring techniques, meanwhile, measure existing natural vibration using sensors.

“The data we collected on site over a multi-day measurement campaign above the lava caves were highly informative, allowing us to validate and further develop measurement techniques under real-world conditions. The trip was a wonderful opportunity for us,” confirm Kai Nierula, Ban-Sok Shin, and Dmitriy Shutin from the DLR contingent.

Research conducted in advance under laboratory conditions in LUNA hall

Similar measurements were carried out a few months earlier in the LUNA hall in Cologne as part of the project. Completed in 2024, this facility simulates the lunar surface and provides infrastructure for a wide range of research activities. The DLR research team describes the outdoor measurements on Lanzarote, in view of their duration and intensity, as a significant step toward the detection of caves and water ice on the moon.
The NEPOS project is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and runs until 2027.