Nearly 55 years after the launch of Apollo 11, the first mission to take humans to the Moon, Scientists have found evidence of a large cave system near those astronauts’ landing site.
Using radar images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spaceship NASA in 2010, researchers have been able to determine that the huge pits, found in the images of the Moon,They may in fact be “skylights” of large caves and tunnels that are located beneath the lunar surface.
These could be incredibly valuable to future astronauts hoping to settle on the Moon, acting as a convenient shelter for a lunar base.
The cave can be accessed through a well in the well studied Sea of Tranquility (Sea of Tranquility). It is a large basin made mostly of basalt. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in this region on July 20, 1969.
While Mare Tranquillitatis is unlikely to be the first place humans attempt to settle on the Moon, the existence of one cave makes the existence of others very likely, so scientists now hope there are others in locations more suitable for human settlement.
Mare Tranquillitatis is not scientists’ first choice for a human base because it does not have one of the other important ingredients needed for survival. There is no ice on the lunar equator and therefore no easy access to water for astronauts to drink, produce oxygen, and split into rocket fuel. This makes the equator ideal for landing and visiting, but a poor choice for setting up camp.
However, ice is likely to exist at the lunar poles, thanks to the shade that protects it from the Sun’s harsh rays. Therefore, the poles are our first choice for starting a settlement on the Moon, as they reduce the amount of water we would need to bring with us.
Cave systems would act as a natural shelter for a lunar base. NASA
The opening being studied here is simply known as the Mare Tranquillitatis pit, and it is one of about 200 known openings on the lunar surface. It was first imaged in 2010 and was suspected to be a pit leading to a cave or tunnel system, but we had no way to confirm this until now.
In an article published in Nature AstronomyLeonardo Carrer of the University of Trento, Italy, and colleagues report evidence that this pit leads to a cave below, and possibly to a larger system of tunnels and passages. The Mare Tranquillitatis pit is about 100 metres (330 ft) wide, with sheer walls extending downward for between 130 and 170 metres, making it the deepest known lunar pit.
By reanalyzing the radar data and using computer simulations to reconstruct the pits, the scientists were able to determine that a portion of the radar reflected back to the satellite came from a subsurface cave passage at least tens of meters long. This suggests that the Mare Tranquillitatis pit leads to an accessible cave beneath the Moon’s surface.
This discovery is incredibly exciting, especially since it is a promising potential location for future lunar shelters and bases. In addition to providing a natural shelter from harmful cosmic rays, a cave system also provides a stable temperature.
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The lunar surface temperature fluctuates wildly over a period of weeks due to the lack of an atmosphere to retain heat. During the lunar day, temperatures can reach 250 °F (121 °C) in sunlight, then drop to -208 °F (-133 °C) after dark. Shading from an underground cave system is expected to regulate the temperature to be much more consistent, making it much easier to build a shelter within them.
Similarly, small asteroids often crash into the Moon due to their lack of atmospheric protection. It is important to be in a shelter that is sturdy enough to survive an impact. A cave provides the perfect solution for this.
While having a cave for shelter could reduce the amount of materials we need to bring to the Moon to begin settling there and have a long-term human presence, there are still some hurdles to overcome.
For example, the walls of the shaft are a sheer drop and are over 100 metres high, meaning that future explorers will need to find a safe way to descend into the caves and ascend back up when exploring the surface.
This could take the form of stairs or more complicated systems. similar to jet packsFortunately, however, the lower lunar gravity means that this problem is less severe than it would be on Earth. The structural integrity of the caves will also need to be assessed before we move in.
The study also revealed that the underground system could be between 30 and 80 metres (98 to 262 feet) long and around 45 metres (148 feet) wide. This would make it large enough to accommodate several “moon houses.” The ground also appears to be flat enough to build on without the need for major works or preparations.
The most likely cause of lunar caves is that they are old lava tubesThese are tunnels that formed when the Moon was still volcanically active millions of years ago. Flowing lava can develop a continuous, hard crust, forming a roof over the still-flowing lava stream. A gap exists once the lava stops flowing.
Photo: Reuters.
Even better than the Mare Tranquillitatis cave would be the discovery of other similar structures near either of the lunar poles. Astronauts would then have the best of all: shelter from the harsh conditions of the Moon and access to the water ice that exists in the shadowed craters at the lunar poles. This would be an excellent opportunity to reduce the cost and difficulty of establishing a base on the Moon for an extended period.
The fact that we can spot them from space also allows us to plan missions to use these natural shelters. It could mean future astronauts living in volcanically formed caves on the Moon.
*Christopher Pattison is a researcher at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth.
