Lava Tube Exploration with LunarLeaper
Abstract
Lunar pits, some of which are interpreted as collapse features into underlying lava tubes, expose otherwise inaccessible stratigraphy and may provide entry points to subsurface voids that preserve records of lunar volcanism and offer potential sites for future human exploration. We synthesize the current state of knowledge on lunar pits and lava tubes, covering their morphological characteristics, classification, proposed formation mechanisms, mechanical stability, and detection from orbit. We then review the open science questions that pit and pit-wall investigation is uniquely placed to address, spanning the volcanic stratigraphy of the lunar maria, the structure and lateral variability of the regolith, and the dimensions and accessibility of subsurface conduits. To evaluate how these questions can be tackled in situ, we assess the feasibility and expected performance of geophysical and remote-sensing investigations for subsurface voids and surface exposures, mainly focusing on gravity measurements, ground-penetrating radar, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopy. Building on this, we present LunarLeaper, a small legged robot mission concept combining a gravimeter, ground-penetrating radar, high-resolution imager, spectrometer, and leg-based geomechanical experiments to deliver the first in situ investigation of a mare pit. The concept targets the Marius Hills Pit and its associated rille, with a mobility architecture optimized for the rugged terrain encountered at pit edges and funnel slopes.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{mittelholz2026lava,
title = {{Lava Tube Exploration with LunarLeaper}},
author = {Anna Mittelholz and Simon C. Stähler and Valentin T. Bickel and Jordan Aaron and Aurelie Cocheril and Alessandro Ghirotto and Matthias Grott and Svein-Erik Hamran and Ozgur Karaketin and Alessandro Maturilli and Birgit Ritter and Alexis Shakas},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.11453},
eprint = {2609.11453},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11453},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Lava Tube Exploration with LunarLeaper
AU - Anna Mittelholz
AU - Simon C. Stähler
AU - Valentin T. Bickel
AU - Jordan Aaron
AU - Aurelie Cocheril
AU - Alessandro Ghirotto
AU - Matthias Grott
AU - Svein-Erik Hamran
AU - Ozgur Karaketin
AU - Alessandro Maturilli
AU - Birgit Ritter
AU - Alexis Shakas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.11453
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11453
AB - Lunar pits, some of which are interpreted as collapse features into underlying lava tubes, expose otherwise inaccessible stratigraphy and may provide entry points to subsurface voids that preserve records of lunar volcanism and offer potential sites for future human exploration. We synthesize the current state of knowledge on lunar pits and lava tubes, covering their morphological characteristics, classification, proposed formation mechanisms, mechanical stability, and detection from orbit. We then review the open science questions that pit and pit-wall investigation is uniquely placed to address, spanning the volcanic stratigraphy of the lunar maria, the structure and lateral variability of the regolith, and the dimensions and accessibility of subsurface conduits. To evaluate how these questions can be tackled in situ, we assess the feasibility and expected performance of geophysical and remote-sensing investigations for subsurface voids and surface exposures, mainly focusing on gravity measurements, ground-penetrating radar, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopy. Building on this, we present LunarLeaper, a small legged robot mission concept combining a gravimeter, ground-penetrating radar, high-resolution imager, spectrometer, and leg-based geomechanical experiments to deliver the first in situ investigation of a mare pit. The concept targets the Marius Hills Pit and its associated rille, with a mobility architecture optimized for the rugged terrain encountered at pit edges and funnel slopes.
ER -