WF-LHR: Long-term habitability on the moon and beyond. A wide-field version of the LHR is being developed to measure water vapor in a lunar swirl at 2.7 microns. Lunar swirls are thought to be of cometary origin and may offer new options for long-term human presence on the Moon. The Reiner Gamma lunar swirl is shown above.

Sampling the plumes of icy moons: Could subsurface oceans of icy moons host habitable conditions for life? With the recent discoveries of extremophile organisms at the bottom of a frozen saline lake in Antarctica where there is no oxygen, the definition of habitable has greatly expanded. Similar sub-surface oceans on icy moons could have the components needed for life.  Above: The LHR could passively sample plume gases for water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and other gases that indicate life by measuring their absorption of sunlight in the mid-infrared.