NASA launches interworld slingshot to map Moon asteroid Phobos minerals
NASA just kicked off the Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys, an early-stage project to map minerals on the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and even Mars' moon Phobos using lasers.
The tech, called Raman spectroscopy, lets scientists figure out what rocks are made of by analyzing light, and it could help NASA find useful resources on the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and even Mars' moon Phobos.
This is all part of bigger plans to build a lunar base in the 2030s.
Pablo Sobron receives NASA NIAC grant
SETI scientist Pablo Sobron and his team received up to $175,000 from NASA's NIAC program over nine months to see if they can use this laser tech from up to 50km away (farther than before).
If it works out, future missions could spot valuable minerals from orbit (making mining safer and smarter) and play a big role in NASA's moon-base plan in the 2030s.