Episode Summary
This week on Pathfinder, Jeremiah Pate, founder and CEO of Lunasonde, shares how his company is revolutionizing resource exploration with subsurface imaging technology from space. Using low-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to map Earth’s underground, Lunasonde is uncovering critical minerals, disrupting traditional mining methods, and eyeing future applications beyond Earth.
Episode Notes
This week on Pathfinder, we’re joined by Jeremiah Pate, founder and CEO of Lunasonde, a company pioneering subsurface imaging from space. Lunasonde is developing technology to map the Earth’s underground, leveraging low-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to identify critical minerals and resources.
With two satellites launched and the first full-tech satellite in their constellation set to launch in July, this episode dives into how Lunasonde is reshaping resource exploration. We also discuss:
- Lunasonde’s founding story and Jeremiah’s inspiration for the company
- The fundamentals of subsurface SAR and how it differs from traditional radar technologies
- The company’s royalty-based business model and its potential to disrupt the critical minerals industry
- Real-world applications, including a breakthrough discovery of a previously unknown copper deposit
- The long-term vision for Lunasonde, including applications beyond Earth and mapping resources on the Moon and asteroids
- Insights on the challenges of scaling a space startup and navigating regulatory barriers
And more…
• Chapters •
00:00 Intro
03:04 What is SAR?
05:19 What is subsurface?
06:29 Critical minerals and Lunasonde’s approach to the market
07:49 Size & demand
10:20 System architecture
11:28 Lunasonde’s launches
12:02 Interpreting SAR data
13:27 SubSAR vs seismic imaging or ground penetrating radar
15:25 Environmental reasons behind building subSAR
16:22 How to ensure accuracy and reliability of the data
17:08 Corona satellites
20:48 How does Lunasonde convince ideal customers to embrace new technologies?
22:48 Examples of discovering new deposits
24:09 Lunasonde’s competitors
26:02 Why do people think subSAR is impossible?
27:12 Going beyond the Earth
28:39 Other revenue models
30:27 Commercial vs government traction
31:27 Is Lunasonde looking for partnerships with space mining startups?
32:14 Scaling path
33:09 Funding
34:11 What keeps Jeremiah up at night?
34:52 Long-term vision
36:53 Could orgs like NASA use Lunasonde’s capabilities for more intensive resource hunting missions?
38:28 What would Jeremiah like to change in the space industry?
40:51 If Jeremiah wasn’t working at Lunasonde, where would he like to work?
• Show notes •
Lunasonde’s website — https://www.lunasonde.com/
Lunasonde’s socials — https://twitter.com/Lunasonde/
Mo’s socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Pathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspace
Pathfinder archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/episodes
• About us •
Pathfinder is brought to you by Payload, a modern space media brand built from the ground up for a new age of space exploration and commercialization. We deliver need-to-know news and insights daily to 19,000+ commercial, civil, and military space leaders. Payload is read by decision-makers at every leading new space company, along with c-suite leaders at all of the aerospace & defense primes. We’re also read on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and at space agencies around the world.
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