NASA Backs Wild Plan for a Laser-Powered Drone to Explore Giant Caves Below the Moon's Surface

NASA announced it will fund research by Austin-based Stone Aerospace Inc. to develop a tethered drone powered by laser light for exploring caves beneath the Moon's surface. The U.S. space agency awarded $175,000 for preliminary research as part of its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase I awards dispersed this July. The proposed Lunar Underground eXplorer mission would send a hovering robotic explorer into the Mare Tranquillitatis lunar skylight, a chasm about 436 feet deep located roughly 250 miles from the Apollo 11 landing site. The drone would be connected to a lunar rover by fiber optic cables that transmit data, provide electrical power and supply laser-enhanced thrust for a cold-gas propulsion system. Stone Aerospace physics lead Gilly Elor said the study could enable the first off-world cave exploration and has dual-use potential for terrestrial applications. Elor noted serious challenges including complete darkness, a completely unmapped 3D environment with no GPS navigation and the requirement for a non-polluting system to avoid affecting sensor measurements. NASA Advanced Research and Technology division director Greg Stover said achieving the agency's vision for space exploration requires great leaps in innovation. Elor said the power-over-fiber drone designs will prove capable as NASA missions advance to Mars.