SETI Institute Team Looks for a New Way to Find Resources in Space

SETI Institute Team Looks for a New Way to Find Resources in Space NASA-funded study explores technology that could help find resources on the Moon, asteroids and Mars. PRESS RELEASE DATE August 19, 2026 CONTACT Rebecca McDonald Director of Communications,... More

SETI Institute Team Looks for a New Way to Find Resources in Space NASA-funded study explores technology that could help find resources on the Moon, asteroids and Mars. PRESS RELEASE DATE August 19, 2026 CONTACT Rebecca McDonald Director of Communications, SETI Institute rmcdonald@seti.org ONLINE Press Release/Image https://tinyurl.com/4wfb7za9 Figure credit: Pablo Sobron August 19, 2026, Mountain View, CA — Before people can mine resources on the Moon, asteroids, or Mars, they need to answer a few key questions: What is there? How much is there? And where can it be found? A team led by SETI Institute research scientist Pablo Sobron is looking into a new way to answer these questions without having to land, drill, or bring samples back to Earth. Supported by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, the project is testing whether Raman spectroscopy—a technique already used in planetary exploration at close range—could be used from orbit or during fast flybys to identify min Less