The Cannon Group
at Colorado School of Mines
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
- Thermal modeling of lunar cold traps
- Molten regolith casting and metal-regolith composites
- Natural landing surfaces on the Moon and Mars
- Seismic velocities of icy lunar regolith
- TRIDENT drill as an instrument for ice prospecting
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 Sites — Resources and tools focused on the Moon
Asteroid Mining — Resources and tools focused on asteroids
Planetary Simulant Database — We 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