SETI Institute

What if we could identify valuable resources on other worlds without ever touching their surfaces? A proposed spacecraft concept could transform how we explore the Solar System by combining remote mineral detection with interplanetary flybys. Called Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys, this NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) study explores how a spacecraft equipped with laser-based Raman spectroscopy could identify minerals from tens of kilometers away, potentially surveying the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid, and one of Mars' moons during a single mission. The technology could help scientists understand the composition of planetary surfaces, identify resources for future exploration, and develop new approaches to surveying multiple destinations without landing. Join SETI Institute scientist and Carl Sagan Center Deputy Director Dr. Simon Steel as he speaks with Dr. Pablo Sobron, the study's principal investigator, about the science behind this ambitious concept, the challenges of detecting minerals from space, and what it could mean for the future of planetary exploration. Learn more: NASA NIAC study: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/interworld-slingshot-resource-surveys/ Project video: https://youtu.be/awrkEafQyjU #SETILive #PlanetaryScience #SpaceExploration #NASA #SETIInstitute 📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go live.

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

What if we could identify valuable resources on the Moon, asteroids, and Mars's moons—without ever landing? SETI Institute scientist Pablo Sobron Sanchez is leading Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys, a concept NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) selected for a 2026 Phase I study. The project explores whether Raman spectroscopy could identify minerals from tens of kilometers away during orbital passes and high-speed flybys. The concept could use a single spacecraft to survey ice and ilmenite on the Moon, minerals and organics on a near-Earth asteroid, and volatile-bearing materials on Phobos or Deimos. By learning what materials are available—and where they are—before committing to landing sites, future missions could make better decisions about exploration and resource use beyond Earth. Interworld Slingshot is currently a NIAC Phase I study investigating whether this kind of long-distance Raman spectroscopy and mission architecture is feasible. Learn more from NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/interworld-slingshot-resource-surveys/ Featuring: Pablo Sobron Sanchez, SETI Institute If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are among the universe's most mysterious phenomena. These powerful flashes of radio waves last only milliseconds, yet can release enormous energy. Where do they come from, and what can they tell us about the universe? New research suggests fast radio bursts may be more common toward galaxy clusters than previously expected. Using observations from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), astronomers have found evidence of an enhanced FRB rate toward these enormous collections of galaxies. But what's causing the increase? Are more bursts originating within galaxy clusters, or could gravitational lensing be magnifying signals from distant sources behind them? Join SETI Institute astronomer Dr. Lauren Sgro and lead author Dr. Mawson W. Sammons as they explore this intriguing discovery, what it reveals about fast radio burst environments, and how these fleeting cosmic signals can help us better understand the universe. Research paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.10358 Related research: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.09399 #SETILive #FastRadioBursts #Astronomy #GalaxyClusters #RadioAstronomy #CHIME #Astrophysics #SETIInstitute 📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast: https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop: https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications when we go live.

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

Could evidence of ancient extraterrestrial technology be hidden in the Moon's dust? A new study led by SETI Institute Affiliate Scientist Dr. Lewis Pinault proposes searching lunar regolith for microscopic technosignatures: tiny, durable particles of engineered material that could have traveled through interstellar space and accumulated on the Moon over billions of years. Unlike Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere, flowing water, or active geology to continually erase its ancient record. That makes its regolith a potentially remarkable archive of material from across the Solar System — and perhaps beyond. The researchers developed a quantitative framework for determining whether microscopic artificial particles could survive interstellar journeys, reach the Earth-Moon system, and remain detectable in lunar soil. They estimate that examining about one cubic meter of lunar regolith with modern microscopy, spectroscopy, tomography, and machine-assisted analysis could begin to place meaningful constraints on the amount of artificial material produced by technological civilizations throughout the history of the Milky Way. Importantly, the researchers have not discovered extraterrestrial technology on the Moon. Instead, their work proposes a new, testable form of “exo-archaeology” that future lunar sample-return missions and laboratory studies could explore. Join SETI Institute Deputy Director of the Carl Sagan Center for Research Dr. Simon Steel and lead author Dr. Lewis Pinault to discuss microscopic technosignatures, the Moon as an archive of Galactic history, and what scientists might learn even if the search finds nothing. Read the SETI Institute press release: https://www.seti.org/news/researchers-propose-searching-the-moon/ Read the preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.24028 #SETILive #SETI #Moon #Technosignatures #Astrobiology 📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go live.

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

Could our Sun produce an explosion far more powerful than anything we've witnessed in the modern era? In April 1947, astronomers observed an enormous sunspot roughly 40 times Earth's diameter. Nearly 80 years later, researchers discovered that this giant sunspot could produce a superflare—an extraordinarily powerful burst of radiation that could dwarf the largest solar flares observed in recent decades. By examining hundreds of solar flares recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and comparing their energies with the sizes of active regions on the Sun, researchers have uncovered new evidence that our star is capable of producing these extreme events. Join us for SETI Live with host and heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson as Dr. Valeriy Vasilyev of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research discusses what historical sunspots, stellar observations, and ancient records of solar activity can tell us about the Sun's most powerful eruptions. Could a superflare happen in our lifetime? What would such an event mean for Earth's technological infrastructure? And how much do we really know about the Sun's explosive potential? Live Thursday, October 29, at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Learn more: Press release: https://www.mpg.de/26963097/sun-new-evidence-of-superflares Research papers: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2025.0290 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2025.0261 #SETILive #SolarScience #Sun #Superflares #SpaceWeather #Astronomy 📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications when we go live.

A new crater on the Moon is helping scientists understand what happens when an object strikes the lunar surface—and how far the impact's effects can reach. The Moon's surface is covered in regolith, a layer of loose rock, dust, and debris shaped by billions of years of impacts. By studying a newly formed lunar crater, researchers can investigate how an impact changes not only the immediate surroundings but also more distant areas of the lunar landscape. The impact created a crater just 222 meters wide, but its effects were detected across an area approximately 7 kilometers wide, where nighttime surface temperatures dropped by 8 to 9 degrees Celsius relative to the surroundings. Join SETI Institute planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Tyler M. Powell (JHUAPL), lead author of a new study published in Science Advances, as they explore what this crater reveals about impact processes, lunar regolith, and the continuing evolution of the Moon's surface. 📅 Thursday, October 8, 2026 🕝 2:30 p.m. PDT / 5:30 p.m. EDT Read the research: Press release: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/rare-new-lunar-crater-how-impacts-remodel-moon-surface Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeh9568 Related NASA coverage (different study): https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moon/nasas-moon-orbiter-spots-new-once-in-century-moon-crater/ #SETILive #Moon #LunarScience #PlanetaryScience #NASA 📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go live.

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go

If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science: 🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ 🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute 🎧 Listen to our podcast https://feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss 📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter https://seti.org/signup 👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go