Unique Cave Discovered on Moon: 'A Place for a Human Base'

Data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) allowed researchers to pinpoint a cave that potentially could become a lunar base for explorers.

As experts explained after analyzing the radar data, the underground structure is a promising place“because it offers refuge from the harsh surface environment and can support long-term human exploration of the Moon.”

Findings shared July 15, 2024 by scientists regarding data obtained by the current on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mini-RF instrument in 2010. The main goal of Mini-RF is to search for underground deposits of water ice, but researchers also obtain other information in this way. The radar images analyzed were taken in the area of Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) — the site of the Apollo 11 landing in 1969.

Researchers from the University of Trento in Italy, analyzing terrain data, discovered that there was an entrance that led to a subsurface cave about 80 meters long, about 130-170 meters deep and about 45 meters wide. The cave system is located approximately 150 meters below the surface.

Researchers call this a unique discovery — it is also probably the deepest known cave on the Moon, which shows the properties needed to create a lunar base there in the future. According to scientists, the cave is an empty lava tube that astronauts will be able to get to, but it will require additional infrastructure — a tunnel with steep walls leads down.

– The cave is deep enough that astronauts will have to go down to the center on a rope and use jetpacks or an elevator to get out, British astronaut Helen Sharman told the BBC.

Trying to compare the cave discovered on the Moon to the formations found on Earth, researchers suggest volcanic caves on the Spanish island of Lanzarote. The lunar underground in the MTP area has not yet been fully explored. Perhaps ground-penetrating radar, cameras, and even robots will be used in the future to conduct more detailed analyses.

– Lunar cave systems have been suggested as great locations for future manned bases because the cave’s thick ceiling made of rock is ideal for protecting people and infrastructure from the rapidly changing temperatures of the lunar surface during the day and night, and to block high-energy radiation that bathes the lunar surface, Katherine Joy, professor of Earth sciences at the University of Manchester, told The Guardian.

However, researchers point out that further research conducted within this cave is not only related to the creation of a base for people there in the future, but also They can also help answer basic questions about the history of the Moon.and even our solar system.

Source: geekweek.interia.pl

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