An international team of scientists has confirmed for the first time the existence of a large underground tunnel beneath the moon’s surface that could one day be used by future astronauts to escape the temperature and radiation extremes that plague the lunar landscape.
Since 2009, over 200 shadow-filled holes marking the lunar surface have been discovered. For decades, it has been thought that many of these vents may have been formed as a result of volcanic activity, and that they may even host subsurface vents created by flowing lava in the distant past. Now the new natural astronomy study revealed exactly what lies beyond the entrance to one such pit, located in the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the lunar surface.
The data at the heart of the paper were captured by NASA’s miniature radio-frequency (Mini-RF) instrument in 2010 when it flew tens of kilometers above Earth’s largest natural satellite. The Mini-RF instrument is a type of synthetic aperture radar that works by sending electromagnetic waves to the lunar surface and listening for the radar “echoes” that bounce back to the spacecraft.
Using state-of-the-art signal processing techniques, scientists led by scientists from the University of Trento in Italy were able to decipher the LRO data to determine the nature of the cave beneath the shadowed Mare Tranquillitatis opening.
“By analyzing the data, we were able to create a model of part of the pipe,” said Leonardo Carrer, an assistant professor at the University of Trento who co-authored the new paper. “The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube.”
While scientists have hypothesized for decades that lunar craters may host vast cave systems carved out by lava in the distant past, a new Astronomy of nature the study marks the first time radar data has been used to prove the existence of such a tunnel.
The data revealed a subsurface cave that extends tens of meters, suggesting that there may be a larger hidden area beyond. The authors of the research believe that Mare Tranquillitatis Cave and others like it could serve as promising sites for future lunar habitats that would use the lunar soil – or regolith – above as a natural shield from solar radiation and extreme surfaces. temperature.
A cave channel is accessible below the lunar surface. Carrer et al: https://t.co/HnW6g5AjDs pic.twitter.com/bOAi9htsGg
— Nature Astronomy (@NatureAstronomy) July 15, 2024
According to NASA, temperatures on the moon’s sunlit side can rise to 260°F (127°C), while the shadowed side cools to -280°F (-173°C). However, the temperature in the moon pits is estimated to be a more comfortable 17°C and is believed to fluctuate relatively little.
Setting up a camp underground would also provide a natural defense against the ever-present threat of micrometeorite impacts, as well as protect astronauts from radiation emanating from our Sun and beyond, which is about 150 times more effective than the dose we receive on Earth.
Of course, trying to make a home in a moon pit would create a myriad of problems of its own, to be faced with the invention of bold new technologies. NASA’s next crewed exploration mission is scheduled for September 2025 and will see astronauts launch aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft to orbit the moon before returning to Earth’s atmospheric embrace. But it won’t be until September 2026 that the planned Artemis III mission makes history by returning American astronauts to the lunar surface, where the agency hopes to establish a permanent presence before making its way to Mars.
Image Credit: Credits: Photo Processing by A. Romeo. 3D model of LRO by NASA (Brian Kumanchik, Christian Lopez. NASA/JPL-Caltech), Earthrise image taken on Taken on December 24, 1968, 16:40 UTC by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders.
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