Could this be our home on the Moon? There are many indications that it is. The cave, estimated to be at least 100 meters deep, could be a perfect place for a future base on the Golden Globe. The discovery of the first known place of this type on the Moon will allow us to overcome the challenges of protection from radiation and extreme temperatures.
The newly discovered cave seems to be the perfect place to set up a base. In about 20-30 years, when we have completed all the key missions on the Golden Globe, people could live in lunar caves. However, this idea has some drawbacks: due to the considerable depth of the cave, astronauts would have to use ropes, jetpacks or special elevators to leave and leave the cave.
The cave was discovered by Lorenzo Bruzzone and Leonardo Carrera of the University of Trento in Italy. Using ground-penetrating radar, the researchers located the depression in the rocky plain of Mare Tranquillitatis, which is visible to the naked eye from Earth and is located near the landing site of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. According to analyses, it is full of vertical walls and a sloping floor, suggesting that it may extend further beneath the surface.
The cave could have formed millions of years ago, when lava was still spreading across the lunar surface. The volcanic caves in Lanzarote, Spain, which scientists visited to compare their discovery, were formed in a similar way.
Realizing the possibilities that the cave offers, scientists plan further research using radar, cameras and even robots to precisely map its structure. There has been speculation about the possibility of caves on the surface of the Moon before: the first such suspicions appeared about 50 years ago, and in 2010 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission captured images that researchers believe could be entrances to hypothetical caves. However, it is only the current work that has confirmed the existence of such formations on the surface of the Golden Globe.
But that’s not all: the above study can help us explore caves on Mars, which in turn could open the way to studying places protected from some of the extreme phenomena on this planet (and perhaps also – bearing traces of life). Studies of geological formations on the Golden Globe will also help us provide answers to questions about the history of the Moon and the entire Solar System. More information about the study is available in Nature Astronomy.
Source: antyweb.pl
