NASA has selected a team to find out if underground lunar caves could one day become safe havens for astronauts to escape the extreme temperature and radiation of lunar surface. The temperature on the Moon can go uo to about 260 degrees Fahrenheit to about -280 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, since the Moon has almost negligible atmosphere, it has virtually no protection from Sun's radiation or meteoroids.
The project, Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar pit Investigation or GIMLI, will be led by the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) Associate Director and Senior Scientist Than Putzig. PSI is collaborating with Honeybee Robotics, which will construct much of the equipment for this project. The Norwegian Space Agency will provide the ground-penetrating radar equipment. In addition to PSI and Honeybee Robotics, the GIMLI team includes Co-Investigators from Boise State University, Johns Hopkins University, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and the University of Oslo.
