A typical lava tube on Earth
Posted on 10/20/2017 6:19:32 AM PDT by ETL
Space luminaries such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have talked about building bases on the Moon to let humans live, work and play on the lunar surface.
A new discovery, however, may bring that dream to reality sooner than realized.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has discovered an enormous cave under the lunar surface, something it calls a "very significant" discovery, due to its value for both science and human expansion into space.
The discovery was made by Japan’s Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selene) probe and shows a 50 kilometer (31 miles) "lava tube" underground, alongside a lava flow river "rille" on the Marius Hills of the Moon. JAXA used radio waves to confirm the existence of the cave after examining the hole.
Benefits of the cave
In a press release detailing the findings, JAXA outlined the reasons why the so-called lava tubes, which it believes were formed by volcanic activity on the Moon, are ideal for lunar bases. "Lava tubes may be the best place to build large-scale lunar bases because their interiors protect from dangerous space radiation, micrometeorite bombardment, and wide temperature oscillations," the space agency wrote.
The underground area is approximately 310 miles long and 100 meters (328 feet) wide and may contain rocks filled with either water or ice. The cave has been given the nickname of Kaguya, a moon princess in a Japanese fairytale.
“We’ve known about these locations that were thought to be lava tubes … but their existence has not been confirmed until now,” Junichi Haruyama, a researcher at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, told AFP on Thursday in comments obtained by The Guardian.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A typical lava tube on Earth
Jerry Brown (Governor Moonbeam) should be the first inhabitant.
“There are probably spiders in those caves.” - I wouldn’t live there. ;o)
Dammit, Jim. I’m a doctor, not a bricklayer.
so the hollow moon and aliens living there conspiracy LIVES!!!
just sayin...
We need to pick up the pace of our return to the moon, before the russkies or chicoms get there and stake out this prime real estate.
There could be a space slug in there. Better check for pointy projections before planning to move in.
Or, a mysterious hamburger and candy corn pizza creature?
Always loved that episode.
Peach
A human moon base? Ming may have something to say about that...
Any signs of lava poop?
Unfortunately, I always thought that that looked something my cat or dog had thrown up ...
Yes, the special effects weren’t always outstanding back then.
Peach
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