{"id":5057,"date":"2024-07-16T11:40:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T11:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/16\/moon-cave-could-be-base-for-future-astronauts-scientists-say\/"},"modified":"2024-07-16T11:40:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T11:40:20","slug":"moon-cave-could-be-base-for-future-astronauts-scientists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/16\/moon-cave-could-be-base-for-future-astronauts-scientists-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Moon cave \u2018could be base\u2019 for future astronauts, scientists say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An underground cave stretching tens of metres below an open pit on the moon has been discovered which could be a potential base for future astronauts, say scientists.<\/p>\n

This is the first lunar tunnel to be found which could be accessible to humans, according to researchers.<\/p>\n

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The hollowed passage lies beneath a pit about 100 metres wide in the Sea Of Tranquillity, a dark region on the near side of the moon which is visible with the naked eye.<\/p>\n

The region is also where the first humans on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, touched down<\/strong> in 1969.<\/p>\n

The cave is estimated to be 30-80m long (98-262ft), around 45m wide (147ft) and 130-170m (436-557ft) below the surface.<\/p>\n

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Previous caves found on the moon do not feature any entry points, the scientists added.<\/p>\n

The “milestone discovery” comes as NASA prepares to send its first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

The moon is hostile to human life and its surface is exposed to powerful levels of cosmic radiation – but experts believe the underground caves could be “suitable for habitation purposes”.<\/p>\n

Leonardo Carrer, an assistant professor at University Of Trento in Italy, said: “For the first time, we have located and accurately mapped a cave that is actually accessible from a pit on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n

“We were able to obtain the first 3D model of a part of the cave’s actual shape.<\/p>\n

“Building a base on the surface of the moon requires highly complex engineering solutions, which may be less effective than what is already provided by nature.”<\/p>\n

Lorenzo Bruzzone, a professor at the university, added: “These caves have been theorised for over 50 years, but it is the first time ever that we have demonstrated their existence.”<\/p>\n

The moon’s surface is exposed to cosmic radiation that is up to 150 times more powerful than Earth.<\/p>\n

The surface is also vulnerable to frequent meteorite impacts and extreme temperatures, ranging from 127C to -173C.<\/p>\n

Previous research has suggested underground caves have an average temperature of around 17C, creating suitable conditions for astronauts.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the study, Mahesh Anand, professor of planetary science and exploration at the Open University, said: “The future exploration of the moon through extended human presence would require protection from the harsh environment and micrometeoroid impacts.<\/p>\n

“In that context, these underground structures could provide a suitable location for habitation purposes.”<\/p>\n

Underground lunar caves are ancient lava tubes created by volcanic activity billions of years ago.<\/p>\n

Moon pits form when ceilings of lava tubes collapse.<\/p>\n

For the study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the researchers re-analysed radar data gathered by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An underground cave stretching tens of metres below an open pit on the moon has been discovered which could be a potential base for future astronauts, say scientists. This is the first lunar tunnel to be found which could be accessible to humans, according to researchers. The hollowed passage lies beneath a pit about 100 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}