From Terrain Insight to the Future of Exploration

I’m Niko Grapsas, a geophysicist, strategist, and exploration systems architect.

My work bridges data and discovery, engineering and environment, science and strategy. I develop terrain, ESG, and resource intelligence systems that solve real-world problems on Earth while building toward something much larger:

Sustainable Exploration: a planetary-scale mission intelligence platform for infrastructure, autonomy, and decision-making across Earth, the Moon, and beyond.

By fusing AI, geophysics, and remote sensing, I design tools that reveal the unseen, model the unknown, and guide how and where humanity explores next.

I not only model environments, I enter them.

Whether mapping terrain, diving into inaccessible environments, or running photogrammetry and multisensor drone missions, I combine expeditionary experience with computational intelligence to test systems where they matter most: in the field.

My mission is to build the integrated intelligence layer that guides autonomous infrastructure, exploration logistics, and multi-domain operations from critical-mineral prospecting to lunar surface planning.

I design systems that make exploration sustainable, scalable, and survivable.

My path has crossed continents, datasets, and domains:

• Planetary science researcher
• Energy systems analyst 
• Strategy lead at AI venture

But the core thread was always exploration.

Out in the field - flying drones, mapping terrain, diving into extreme environments - one thing became clear:

We have the data, but not the intelligence infrastructure. 

My work exists to close this gap, one insight, map, and system at a time.

I operate where I build.

As a certified drone pilot, rescue diver, and expeditionary photographer, I bring field-tested practicality to the systems I design.

From lunar analogs to underwater cave environments, each project connects theory and terrain, computation, and experience.

Exploration is not a theme in my work. It’s a method.
 

Every dataset, model, and map I produce is shaped by lived exploration: navigating terrain, assessing risk, and adapting in real time.

This philosophy integrates three foundations:

1. Scientific Rigor — Grounded in planetary geophysics and data systems.
2. Operational Precision — Trained through diving, robotics, and analog missions.
3. Adaptive Design — Built for deployment in unpredictable environments.
    

That synthesis allows me to create systems that are scientifically credible, technically precise, and operationally meaningful, on Earth and other worlds alike.

Degrees

• MSc, Sustainable Energy Futures (Honors) – Imperial College London
• BS, Geophysics & Planetary Science (magna cum laude) – Boston University

Certifications

• Applied Data Science & AI – MIT
• New Space Economy – MIT
• GIS & Geoinformatics – Colorado School of Mines
• Climate Knowledge and Innovation – EIT Climate-KIC

       1. Planetary Science & Exploration

• The Critical Minerals Institute
• American Astronomical Society – Division for Planetary Sciences (AAS-DPS) 
• The Planetary Society
• Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)

      2. Aerospace & Engineering

• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
• IEEE Geoscience & Remote Sensing Society (IEEE-GRSS)

      3. Geoscience & Geophysics

• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Geological Society of America (GSA)
• Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)

      4. Mining & Resources

• Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)

      5. Remote Sensing & GIS

• American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)

      6. Interdisciplinary Science

• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

      7. Exploration & Field Operations

• The Explorers Club