LISTER
A compact gas-powered drill and heat flow probe that measures the Moon's thermal properties below the surface. It reached about 1 meter deep on Firefly's 2025 Blue Ghost landing.
Why it matters
Measuring how heat moves under the surface tells scientists about the Moon's interior. LISTER weighs about 10 kg, where earlier lunar drills weighed about 50 kg and stood over 3 m tall.
How the technology works
LISTER uses high-pressure gas to lift soil out of the hole, like air drilling on Earth, through quarter-inch coiled tubing borrowed from the oil and gas industry, and was designed to dig without heating the ground it measures. A second LISTER is scheduled for 2027 on a Draper-co-developed lander to the Schrodinger basin.
Sources
Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction