He3-Seeker: Robotic Information Planning for Lunar Helium-3 Distribution Mapping

2026-06-27

AI Summary

Current lunar helium-3 exploration relies on indirect remote sensing measurements, which suffer from low accuracy, poor reliability, and insufficient spatial resolution. This work proposes He3-Seeker, a novel framework that introduces robotic information planning (RIP) to active lunar helium-3 prospecting for the first time. By integrating multi-point drilling, in-situ analysis, and autonomous navigation, He3-Seeker enables efficient, high-fidelity mapping of helium-3 distributions. The approach leverages low-resolution orbital remote sensing data to generate a high-confidence reference distribution and formally casts the problem as an active exploration task. Simulation results demonstrate that He3-Seeker rapidly constructs high-accuracy helium-3 maps, establishing a reliable new paradigm for extraterrestrial resource exploration.

Abstract

Lunar helium-3 is a highly valuable strategic resource, pivotal to the advancement of both deep-space exploration and space mining. Existing lunar helium-3 exploration methodologies rely primarily on indirect measurements via remote sensing, which are often characterized by limited precision, low reliability, and insufficient spatial resolution. In this paper, we introduce He3-Seeker, an active robotic exploration method for helium-3 distribution mapping. First, we provide a formal definition of the active helium-3 exploration problem. Subsequently, we developed the He3-Seeker framework, which is conceptually based on multi-point drilling, sampling, and in situ analysis. In particular, we use robotic information planning (RIP) to guide autonomous robot navigation and active sensing. Additionally, to thoroughly evaluate the proposed algorithm, we introduce a reliable method for generating reference data of lunar helium-3 distribution based on low-resolution orbital remote sensing measurements. Simulation experiments verify that He3-Seeker achieves both rapid and high-fidelity mapping of helium-3 distribution, providing a reliable solution for resource exploration tasks. Our code and simulation environment will be publicly accessible at https://github.com/OpenSpace-Lab/He3-Seeker.

Problem

• lunar helium-3
• resource mapping
• remote sensing limitations
• spatial resolution
• exploration precision

Innovation

• Robotic Information Planning
• Helium-3 Mapping
• Active Exploration
• In Situ Analysis
• Lunar Resource Prospecting