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 companyThe fundamentals of subsurface SAR and how it differs from traditional radar technologiesThe company’s royalty-based business model and its potential to disrupt the critical minerals industryReal-world applications, including a breakthrough discovery of a previously unknown copper depositThe long-term vision for Lunasonde, including applications beyond Earth and mapping resources on the Moon and asteroidsInsights on the challenges of scaling a space startup and navigating regulatory barriersAnd more… • Chapters •00:00 Intro03:04 What is SAR?05:19 What is subsurface?06:29 Critical minerals and Lunasonde's approach to the market07:49 Size & demand10:20 System architecture11:28 Lunasonde's launches12:02 Interpreting SAR data13:27 SubSAR vs seismic imaging or ground penetrating radar15:25 Environmental reasons behind building subSAR16:22 How to ensure accuracy and reliability of the data17:08 Corona satellites20:48 How does Lunasonde convince ideal customers to embrace new technologies?22:48 Examples of discovering new deposits24:09 Lunasonde's competitors26:02 Why do people think subSAR is impossible?27:12 Going beyond the Earth28:39 Other revenue models30:27 Commercial vs government traction31:27 Is Lunasonde looking for partnerships with space mining startups?32:14 Scaling path33:09 Funding34:11 What keeps Jeremiah up at night?34:52 Long-term vision36:53 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/itsmoislamPayload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspacePathfinder archive — Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@payloadspacePathfinder 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.Payload began as a weekly email sent to a few friends and coworkers. Today, we’re a team distributed across four time zones and two continents, publishing five media properties across multiple platforms:1) Payload, our flagship daily newsletter, sends M-F @ 9am Eastern2) Pathfinder publishes weekly on Tuesday mornings (pod.payloadspace.com)3) Polaris, our weekly policy briefing, publishes weekly on Tuesdays4) Payload Research, our weekly research and analysis piece,  comes out on WednesdaysYou can sign up for all of our publications here: https://payloadspace.com/subscribe/