21 Apr 2025

NASA has confirmed that a seismometer being designed for the lunar surface is ready for building and assembly. The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is one of several science payloads in development for potential deployment by astronauts during NASA’s Artemis III mission.  

The LEMS instrument is a compact suite of seismometers, about the size of a carry-on suitcase, designed to continuously monitor the Moon’s surface for ground movement caused by moonquakes. Both meteoroid impacts and a shrinking and cooling moon cause the lunar surface and subsurface to shake. The data from LEMS, which will be recorded for up to several years after the end of the Artemis III surface mission, can help scientists better understand the Moon’s internal structure and evaluate the seismic hazards for human exploration.  

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On Sept. 9 and 10, 2024, scientists and engineers tested NASA’s LEMS (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station) instrument suite in a “sandbox” of simulated Moon regolith at the Florida Space Institute’s Exolith Lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.