Subsurface Vision, with Jeremiah Pate (CEO of Lunasonde)

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://x.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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