A cave discovered on the moon opens up new opportunities for settlement by humans

Nearly 55 years after the launch of Apollo 11, humanity’s first moon landing mission, scientists have found evidence of a large cave system near where the astronauts landed.

use Radar imagery Shooting at NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter In 2010, researchers determined that giant holes seen in images of the moon may actually be “skylights” to larger caverns or tunnels beneath the lunar surface.

These could serve as convenient shelters for a lunar base and prove invaluable to future astronauts hoping to settle on the lunar surface.

of cave Well-studied Sea of ​​Tranquility (Sea of ​​Tranquility). This is a large basin made up mainly of basalt. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in this area on July 20, 1969.

While the Mare Tranquility would not be the first place humans attempt to colonize the Moon, the existence of one cave means there are very likely more, and scientists now suspect there are other caves in locations suitable for human habitation.

The Mare Tranquility is not scientists’ first choice for a human base because it lacks one other important element needed for survival: there is no ice at the moon’s equator. Easy access to water It’s where astronauts drink, make oxygen, break it down into rocket fuel, etc. So while the equator is great for landing and visiting, it’s not a good place to set up camp.

But the Moon’s poles are more likely to have ice because they provide shade from the sun’s harsh rays, reducing the amount of water we’d have to carry around, making them a prime candidate for where to begin colonizing the Moon.

The hole studied here, known simply as the Mare Tranquility Hole, is one of around 200 holes on the Moon’s surface. It was first photographed in 2010 and was suspected to be a hole leading to a cave or tunnel system, but until now there was no way to confirm this.

In the paper Published in Natural AstronomyDr. Leonardo Carreru of the University of Trento in Italy and colleagues report evidence that the hole does in fact open into a cavern below, and may even lead to a much larger system of tunnels and conduits. The Mare Tranquillitatis hole is about 100 meters (330 feet) wide, with steep walls that extend from 130 to 170 meters down, making it the deepest known lunar hole.

Re-analyzing the radar data, Computer Simulation Scientists were able to determine that some of the radar reflected back to the satellite to recreate this hole came from an underground cavern conduit at least tens of meters long, suggesting that the hole in Mare Tranquility leads to an accessible cavern beneath the Moon’s surface.

Exciting Prospects

This discovery is extremely exciting as it not only represents a promising location for future lunar shelters and bases, but the cave system would not only provide a natural refuge from harmful cosmic rays, but also stable temperatures.

of Lunar Surface With no atmosphere to retain heat, temperatures fluctuate greatly over the course of several weeks. During the lunar day, temperatures can spike as high as 121°C (250°F) in sunlight, then plummet to -133°C (-208°F) at night. The shade of the underground cave system is expected to keep temperatures more constant, making it much easier to build shelters within the caves.

Similarly, small asteroids often collide with the Moon due to the lack of atmospheric shielding, so it’s important to be in a shelter that’s sturdy enough to withstand the impact. Caves provide the perfect solution to this.

While shelter caves could reduce the amount of supplies humans would need to take to the Moon to establish a permanent, long-term settlement on the surface, there are still obstacles to overcome.

For example, the mine’s walls are sheer cliffs that are over 100 metres high, meaning future explorers will need to find a safe way to descend and climb into the cave before exploring the surface.

This could be in the form of a ladder or a more complex system. Similar to a jetpackBut thankfully, the gravity on the Moon is lower than on Earth, so this issue is less severe.Before entering a cave, the structural integrity of the cave should also be assessed.

The study found that the underground system could be as long as 30 to 80 meters (98 to 262 feet) and as wide as 45 meters (148 feet), enough space for several “moon homes,” and the floor appears to be flat enough to build on without extensive construction or preparation.

The most likely cause of the moon’s caves is that they are old. Lava TubeThese are tunnels that formed millions of years ago, when the Moon was still volcanically active. As lava flows, a continuous, hard crust forms, forming a roof over the still-flowing lava flows. When the lava stops flowing, a cavity forms.

Even more amazing than the Sea of ​​Tranquility caves would be the discovery of similar structures near the poles of the moon, which would provide astronauts with shelter from the harsh lunar environment and a safe haven for the cold and humid weather. Water Ice Located in the shadow craters at the poles of the Moon, this would be a great opportunity to reduce the cost and difficulty of long-term lunar habitation.

Being able to spot them from space also means it’s possible to plan missions that take advantage of these natural refuges — maybe future astronauts could live in caves formed by volcanoes on the moon.

This article is reprinted from conversation Published under a Creative Commons license. Original Article.