USGS, NASA Map Critical Minerals from 65,000 Feet

“Regaining America’s mineral independence takes a united effort starting with world-leading USGS mineral science and NASA aeronautics. As of today, the hyperspectral survey from the edge of earth’s atmosphere has covered about 400,000 square miles, giving us a brilliant new picture of the mineral wealth under the western states,” said Andrea Travnicek, assistant secretary of the Interior for Water and Science.  

“This hyperspectral survey is one of the latest tools for a USGS mission that started in 1879: mapping the mineral resources of the United States.  NASA flies the highest of all our cutting-edge Earth MRI surveys which together show where to look for the minerals needed to drive the U.S. economy and national security,” said USGS Director Ned Mamula.  “The 60-year partnership between the USGS and NASA has benefitted both the space program through USGS mapping the moon for Apollo and Artemis missions and had terrestrial benefits such as Landsat and these hyperspectral flights.” 

The hyperspectral survey is part of the USGS’s Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, called Earth MRI, and is part of the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx), a NASA-USGS partnership. Earth MRI works with  the geological surveys of Colorado and 44 other states, educational institutions and industry to map critical minerals in the ground and in mine waste. Earth MRI data yields other applications resulting from greater knowledge of the nation’s geology, such as detailed data on water availability and hazards like landslides.

The survey flights conducted by NASA’s ER-2 high-altitude plane from Colorado Springs started April 1 and will continue until May 20, weather permitting. The aircraft carries instruments that measure dozens to hundreds of wavelengths of light—including ultraviolet, short-wave infrared and thermal infrared—reflecting off the Earth’s surface. These measurements capture ‘spectral fingerprints’ that scientists at the USGS analyze to identify minerals.

Illustrating the importance of minerals to technology, the ER-2 is itself primarily constructed from aluminum, nickel and titanium, all of which appear on the 2025 List of Critical Minerals maintained by the USGS.  The United States relied on imported sources for all the titanium it used last year, and at least 75% percent of the aluminum and 41% of the nickel, according to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.

The last step in the process is ground-truthing – examining rocks in prospective areas detected from the edge of space.  Field measurements further refine the airborne data. Using backpack-mounted spectrometers, they measure the same areas from the ground to account for atmospheric conditions and confirm mineral identifications.

Last month, USGS geologist Erik Tharalson investigated an anomaly located by a previous flight in the hyperspectral survey that could be related to a porphyry copper deposit, a potential source of critical minerals.  “It’s a large outcrop of volcanic rocks, but the minerals in it would be easy to miss. That’s why the hyperspectral survey is so critically important,” Tharalson said.

USGS and NASA are continuing airborne imaging from California to the Rocky Mountain front range and partnering with academic and commercial groups on targeted surveys of legacy mine sites. Hyperspectral mapping is part of Earth MRI’s broader effort to collect and analyze geologic samples and to acquire geophysical and geochemical data that together provide a national-scale picture of mineral resources.

“The Earth MRI hyperspectral campaign highlights the importance of continued investment in modern geoscience data collection across the western United States. Colorado’s complex geology makes the Rocky Mountain region an ideal area for advanced airborne mapping and remote sensing work. The information collected through these efforts can improve our understanding of critical mineral resources, water systems, and geologic hazards while supporting future geologic mapping and scientific research. Through AASG, state geological surveys look forward to continued collaboration with federal partners to help maximize the scientific and public value of these efforts,” said Colorado Geological Survey Director Matt Morgan, who is president of the American Association of State Geologists.

Earth MRI data is made publicly available in keeping with longstanding USGS Fundamental Science Practices and Executive Order 14303 Restoring Gold Standard Science which emphasizes the importance of scientific peer review and open communication.