This story was originally Cast WIRED Italy Translated from Italian.
After decades of debate about its existence, we can finally say for sure that there is a cave beneath the Moon’s surface. This week, an international team of researchers led by the University of Trento in Italy announced study A paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy provides evidence of accessible areas beneath the Moon’s surface, a discovery that could be crucial for the construction of future lunar colonies.
For more than half a century, astronomers have theorized that there is a network of caves and tunnels beneath the surface of the Moon. In 2009, a team of experts discovered a deep hole on the Moon’s surface, supporting the hypothesis that underground caves were formed by cooling lava beneath the Moon’s surface. This week’s discovery demonstrates the existence of a longer underground conduit. “Such structures have been hypothesized for more than 50 years, but this is the first time their existence has been demonstrated.“ “We’re working on a project to find out how to use the technology,” said research coordinator Lorenzo Bruzzone of the University of Trento.
To make the discovery, the researchers examined data acquired in 2010 by radio frequency instruments aboard NASA’s Lunar Orbiter, a spacecraft that has been orbiting the Moon since 2009, mapping the lunar surface and searching for potential landing sites for future missions. Based on the images, the researchers were able to discover an empty lava tube hidden near the Mare Tranquility that may be accessible to astronauts in the future.
“We analyzed these images using complex signal processing techniques recently developed in our laboratory and found that some of the radar reflections from parts of the Mare Tranquillitatis are due to underground conduits,” Bruzzone says. “This discovery is the first direct evidence that there is a rock tunnel that provides access beneath the surface of the Moon.” Analysis of the data also allowed the researchers to build a model representing the first part of the tunnel. “It is very likely to be an empty lava tube,” says Leonardo Carrell, a researcher at the University of Trento and lead author of the paper.
This discovery could have important implications for future lunar exploration missions. Meteorites and radiation make the lunar environment harsh for humans. Cosmic and solar radiation is up to 150 times more intense than what we experience on Earth, and meteorites are a constant threat. Therefore, there is a need to find protected areas for landing probes and for the construction of long-term lunar infrastructure. Thus, astronauts may one day find refuge in these caves.
