CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have identified a moon cave not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago and speculate there could be hundreds more that could be habitable for future astronauts.
An Italian-led team reported Monday that they have evidence of a sizable cavern accessible through the deepest hole on the moon’s surface: the cavern is located in the Mare Tranquility, just 250 miles from the Apollo 11 landing site.
The hole, like over 200 others discovered there, was formed by the collapse of a lava tube.
The researchers analyzed radar measurements from NASA’s lunar rover and compared their findings to lava tubes on Earth, and their findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Scientists say the radar data has revealed only the first part of the underground chamber, which they estimate to be at least 130 feet (40 meters) wide and tens of yards (meters) long, possibly more.
“The lunar caves have remained a mystery for over 50 years, so it’s exciting to finally be able to prove their existence,” Leonardo Carrell and Lorenzo Bruzzone of the University of Trento said in an email.
Scientists say most of the holes appear to be in the moon’s ancient lava plains, and there may even be holes on the moon’s south pole, where NASA plans to land astronauts in 10 years’ time. A permanently shadowed crater there is thought to contain frozen water that could provide drinking water or rocket fuel.
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NASA’s Apollo program landed 12 astronauts on the moon, beginning with Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969.
The results suggest that the Moon may contain hundreds of holes and thousands of lava tubes. These could provide natural shelter for astronauts, protecting them from cosmic rays, solar radiation, and micrometeorite strikes. Building habitats from scratch would be slower and more difficult, the team said, even taking into account that cave walls may need to be reinforced to prevent collapse.
The rocks and other materials in these caves, unchanged by hundreds of millions of years of harsh surface conditions, could also help scientists better understand how the Moon evolved, particularly its volcanic activity.
