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https://www.youtube.com/@valls_geoconsultant?sub_confirmation=1 For more videos about geology, geochemistry, AI, and much more, please visit and subscribe for free here: Golden droplets- https://shorturl.at/fetV1 Geovoices- https://tinyurl.com/m23pp4pb News about geology- https://tinyurl.com/3979urhy The Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx) is a landmark strategic partnership between NASA and the USGS designed to locate and map critical minerals, particularly Rare Earth Elements (REEs), across the Western United States using advanced hyperspectral imagery. This collaborative airborne exploration effort, funded by the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), directly addresses U.S. supply chain vulnerabilities and utilizes sophisticated remote sensing technology, including the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and the Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES), to secure domestic feedstock for technology and clean energy goals. The GEMx mission employs high-altitude NASA ER-2 aircraft, often cruising at altitudes up to 65,000 feet (18,000 meters), to survey vast arid and semi-arid regions across California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, providing high-resolution data (finer than many satellites) over approximately 190,000 square miles (500,000 square kilometers). The bridge between Academy and Industry! P. Geo. Ricardo A Valls, M. Sc. and Geo Gadfly Valls Geoconsultant ORCID ID- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5421-0914 Scopus Author ID: 7003369619/35335510700 ResearcherID: S-6604-2018 #valls_geoconsultant #CriticalMinerals #HyperspectralRemoteSensing #GeologicalExploration #RareEarthElements References Berk, A., Bernsten, L. S., & Robertson, D. C. (1989). MODTRAN: A Moderate Resolution Model for LOWTRAN7 (GL-TR-89-0122). Air Force Geophysics Laboratory. Berk, A., Bernstein, L. S., Anderson, G. P., Acharya, P. K., Robertson, D. C., Chetwynd, J. H., & Adler-Golden, S. M. (1998). MODTRAN cloud and multiple scattering upgrades with application to AVIRIS. Remote Sensing of Environment, 65(3), 367–375. eoPortal. (n.d.). HyTES (Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer). European Space Agency. (n.d.). Spectral unmixing tool. Geological Survey. (2025). Final 2025 list of critical minerals. Federal Register, 90(214), 50494–50497. Jepson, K. (Producer), & Younger, S. (Writer). (2024). Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx) B-roll (ID: 14728) [Media]. NASA Scientific Visualization Studio. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (n.d.). Specifications: Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer - HyTES. Meyer, P. (1994). A parametric approach for the geocoding of Airborne Visible/Infrared Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data in rugged terrain. Remote Sensing of Environment, 49(2), 118–130. NASA. (2025). GEMx: NASA and the USGS have embarked on a multi-year survey to map critical minerals in the Western US. NASA Science. NASA & U.S. Geological Survey. (2025). Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx). NASA Center for Airborne Science & Engineering Inventory (CASEI)/IMPACT. NASA Airborne Sensor Facility. (2025). MASTER GEMx 2025: Campaign summary information. NASA Earth. (n.d.). NASA's GEMx mission maps critical minerals [Video]. YouTube. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2022, September 30). NASA, USGS map minerals to understand Earth makeup, climate change. National Energy Technology Laboratory. (n.d.). Rare earth elements – A subset of critical minerals. NV5 Geospatial Software. (n.d.). Preprocessing AVIRIS data tutorial. Richter, R. (1996). Atmospheric correction of DAIS hyperspectral image data. In Imaging Spectroscopy of the Terrestrial Environment (Vol. 2758, pp. 390–399). SPIE. Richter, R. (1997). Correction of atmospheric and topographic effects for high spatial resolution satellite imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 18(13), 1099–1111. Richter, R. (2000). Atmospheric / topographic correction for wide FOV airborne imagery: Model ATCOR4 (DLR-IB 552-05/00). DLR Internal Report. Rowan, L. R. (2025). Critical mineral resources: National policy and critical minerals list (CRS Report No. R47982). Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Schläpfer, D., Bojinski, S., Schaepman, M., & Richter, R. (n.d.). Combination of geometric and atmospheric correction for AVIRIS data in rugged terrain. Remote Sensing Laboratories (RSL), Department of Geography, University of Zurich, and DLR - German Aerospace Center. Schläpfer, D., Meyer, P., & Itten, K. I. (1998). Parametric geocoding of AVIRIS data using a ground control point derived flightpath. In Summaries of the Seventh JPL Airborne Earth Science Workshop (Vol. 1, pp. 367–372). Jet Propulsion Laboratory.