Using 3D imaging combined with ambient noise tomography we will test advanced Earth technologies to map lava tubes on the Moon.
Humanity is on the precipice of returning to the Moon, and this time we plan to stay. This means we need to develop new ways to rapidly learn about its surface and where we can best survive. Capturing high-resolution 3D data of the Lunar surface, we can create detailed virtual environments giving access to the Lunar surface to more scientists, train our astronauts, and bring the world with us to the Moon. This project will be continuing research on a commercial-off-the-shelf 3D camera that uses time of flight (ToF) technology to integrate cm-scale resolution depth-mapping into a virtual reality (VR) platform for Lunar rover exploration missions which we will be landing at the Lunar south pole in 2024, the first ToF camera on the Lunar surface. To further the development of the virtual platform design and test the camera in a Lunar-analog terrain we will be collecting colour and topographical imagery along with sensor data on Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. The experiment will benefit from the unique landscape with its recently formed lava fields, minimal vegetation, and accessible lava tubes. We will be collecting surface data with the 3D camera, environmental sensor data, and ambient noise tomography, providing information about the subsurface lava tubes. Paired with 3D imagery from the underlying lava tubes we will be able to create a multi-layered virtual environment, representative of what we will find on the Lunar surface.
Objectives:
- Data collection: The goal is to capture high resolution 3D colour imagery of a 80mx160m surface area over the Cueva de los Verdes lava tube. This will be matched with a corresponding subsurface map using the Fleet Aerospace Exospheres. Each wireless, battery-operated Exosphere contains a sophisticated processing unit, satellite transmitter and a seismic sensor. The Exospheres use the principles of seismology to map the properties of the Earth’s subsurface from reflected seismic waves by recording ambient noise - a process known as Ambient Noise Tomography (ANT). We will then capture the same section of lava tube from inside the tube using the 3D camera only. Additionally, we will collect data using the MIT designed HexSense which are rugged, self-deploying sensors that collect environmental data in a network of sensor nodes. With this data we will build a high-resolution virtual recreation of this section of the lava tube with environmental data and demonstrate the effectiveness of combining these data types for future Lunar missions where we will be searching for lava tubes on the Moon. The 3D data collected within the lava tube will serve as a ground-truth for the ANT data, demonstrating the resolution capabilities.
- Virtual environment: Demonstrating these technologies for future Lunar missions provides a technological roadmap for assessing lava tube locations for future human exploration without endangering humans or rovers as these formations are incredibly difficult to access with current technology but are critical for future human habitation on the Moon and a better understanding of our Moon’s geologic history. Additionally, similar virtual environments have been proven to be useful tools for both remote geologic exploration and training for human exploration of the Lunar surface (Paige, 2023). The data layering proposed for this project will be the next step in the virtual development and will augment the current capabilities.