Current PhD Students
Hunter Danque
Kyla Edison
Chance Amos
Joshua Menges
Karlie Hadden
Isabel King

PI: Kevin M. Cannon
Assistant Professor
Geology and Geological Engineering
Space Resources Program
cannon@mines.edu | 401-340-6608

Undergraduates
Chloe Locke

Research Areas

Space Resources

  • Geologic models for space resources
  • Resource types, concentrations, and locations
  • Prospecting strategies & tools

Regolith Processing

  • Regolith simulant synthesis & analysis
  • Particle size and shape characterization
  • Regolith transport and processing

Planetary Cartography

  • Illumination & line of sight modeling
  • Landing site analysis
  • Predictive maps of resource favorability

Current Student Projects

Facilities & Capabilities

Planetary Cartography Lab
The Planetary Cartography Lab is located in GRL 238, and hosts computing and software resources for mapping, geospatial analysis, and remote sensing for all planetary bodies. Equipment includes an 86" SMART Board interactive display, large format 2D & 3D printers, and VR headsets.

Space Resources Lab
We also have equipment in the shared Space Resources Lab in GRL 140: this includes a Microtrac SYNC particle size and shape analyzer, and instruments and materials for synthesizing and analyzing high-fidelity regolith simulants.

Links & Projects

Lunar Mining & Landing SitesResources and tools focused on the Moon

Asteroid MiningResources and tools focused on asteroids

Planetary Simulant DatabaseWe created and maintain the Planetary Simulant Database, a free resource with data on historic and current regolith simulants

What we’ve published lately

2023. Cannon, K. M.
A lunar soil classification system for space resource utilization
Planetary and Space Science, in press

2022. Cannon, K. M., M. Gialich, and J. Acain
Precious and structural metals on asteroids
Planetary and Space Science, 225, 105608.

2022. Deutsch, A. N., A. Colaprete, J. L. Heldmann, R. C. Elphic, and K. M. Cannon
Surface Roughness Variation Across Polar Ice Deposit Boundaries on Mercury
JGR: Planets, 127, e2021JE007114.

2022. Cannon, K. M., C. B. Dreyer, G. F. Sowers, J. Schmit, T. Nguyen, K. Sanny, and J. Schertz
Working with lunar surface materials: Review and analysis of dust mitigation and regolith conveyance technologies
Acta Astronautica, 196, 259-274.

Contact Info

Feel free to contact me about our groups’ work, potential speaking appearances, or possible collaborations.
Email: cannon@mines.edu
Cell: (+1) 401-340-6608