4-23-2022
Students from across San Antonio are helping NASA prepare for future lunar habitats by exploring a cave system right here in Texas. In late March 2025, more than two dozen students entered the “Cave Without a Name” near Boerne, bringing robot rovers they built themselves. Their mission: map the cave’s terrain and study its sediment. This fieldwork is part of the Lunar Caves Analog Test Sites (LCATS) program, developed by the WEX Foundation and funded by a $315,000 gift from the Kelly Heritage Foundation. Scientists believe the moon’s lava tube caves offer ideal protection from radiation and meteorites for human settlers, and local caves provide a surprisingly similar testing environment.
Working alongside aerospace professionals from Astroport Space Technologies, the students are simulating the robotic missions that would precede human explorers on the moon. They program their rovers to collect samples and map interiors, helping future astronauts understand what might go right—or wrong. The program, offered at no cost to selected students, also builds critical thinking, teamwork, and exposes young learners to careers in space exploration. Applications are now open for the 2025-26 school year.