NASA Hunts Critical Minerals from 60,000 Feet Above Earth

NASA has launched a high-altitude mission to map critical minerals across large parts of the American West, supporting research on resources used in electronics, clean energy, and national security, Space.com reports.

The project employs NASA’s ER-2 research aircraft, flying at approximately 60,000 feet, equipped with a new sensor called AVIRIS-5. This initiative is part of the joint NASA-U.S. Geological Survey program known as GEMx, designed to detect surface signs of minerals that are vital for technology, energy systems, and national security.

AVIRIS-5 builds on imaging spectrometer technology first developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1970s. The sensor measures how sunlight reflects off the Earth in multiple wavelengths, allowing scientists to identify minerals based on their unique light-reflecting properties. Since 2023, the GEMx team has surveyed over 366,000 square miles of desert terrain, where minimal vegetation makes mineral detection easier.

The high-altitude AVIRIS-5 sensor, roughly the size of a microwave, is mounted inside the nose of the ER-2 aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. By analyzing reflected wavelengths, researchers can determine the “spectral fingerprints” of minerals such as aluminum, lithium, zinc, graphite, tungsten, and titanium—materials used in semiconductors, solar panels, and electric vehicle batteries. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, critical minerals are those with “significant consequences for the economic or national security of the U.S.”

NASA highlights that similar technology has long been used for space exploration. A spokesperson from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory noted that one instrument “is en route to Europa, an ocean moon of Jupiter, to search for the chemical ingredients needed to support life,” demonstrating how space-based tools can also advance Earth science.

The survey aligns with broader U.S. policy efforts to strengthen domestic mineral supply chains. In March 2025, the White House issued an executive order calling for expanded mineral production, stating that national and economic security are “now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers’ mineral production.”

Beyond identifying minerals, AVIRIS-5 has potential applications in land management, snowpack monitoring, and wildfire risk assessment. Dana Chadwick, an Earth system scientist at JPL, emphasized, “Critical minerals are just the beginning for AVIRIS-5.”

The GEMx project is ongoing, with flights continuing over selected western U.S. regions. NASA notes that imaging spectrometers like AVIRIS-5 illustrate how technology developed for planetary exploration can be adapted to study Earth systems, natural resources, and environmental changes.