LSU Rover to Hunt Hidden Ice on Mars and the Moon
December 01, 2025
LSU researchers are developing a rover to ‘prospect’ for ice on the Moon and Mars, in support of NASA’s Moon to Mars Program.
LSU's rover was successfully tested in terrain that resembles that of the Moon and Mars.
“Finding ice is our first priority. A reliable, local source of water means astronauts can enable life support, fuel production, construction, and science,” said Juan Lorenzo, professor of geology and geophysics. “Water makes long-term exploration and permanent settlement possible.”
The rover would feature seismic sensors, a drill and soil-ice analysis equipment. Researchers have successfully tested the seismometer at the Lunar Regolith Terrain, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; Mars Yard, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. All offer harsh terrain resembling the conditions on the Moon and Mars. Regolith is the layer of dust and broken rock above solid rock.
After each test, the team upgrades the rover’s capabilities so the tool can provide crucial information.
For example, if space agencies decide to inhabit the Moon or Mars, they will need to know the soil’s physical characteristics, Lorenzo said. They will need to know how to bind the soil to support buildings and the reinforced landing pads needed to refuel rockets or land new supplies.
Lorenzo’s team, which is led by Associate Professor Suniti Karunatillake is also developing a Mars mission targeting low-latitude regions as an institutional investment under LSU's Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research. Recent discoveries have shown these regions contain extensive buried ice. The mission could locate the ice closest to the surface, analyze the ice, and pinpoint the best drilling sites.
The ice analysis could also provide other scientific insights, including:
- How moisture moves across Mars over geologic time.
- A planetwide sample of of surface and atmospheric biomarkers that could offer clues to past habitability.
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