CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Scientists have identified a cave on the moon not far from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago, and they speculate there could be hundreds more that could be habitable for future astronauts.
An Italian-led team of researchers reported Monday that they have evidence of a sizable cavern accessible through the deepest hole on the moon’s surface. The cavern is located in the Mare Tranquility, just 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the Apollo 11 landing site.
The hole, like over 200 others discovered there, was formed by the collapse of a lava tube.
The researchers analyzed radar measurements from NASA’s lunar rover and compared their findings to lava tubes on Earth, and their findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Scientists say the radar data has revealed only the first part of the underground chamber, which they estimate to be at least 130 feet (40 meters) wide and tens of yards (meters) long, possibly more.
“The lunar caves have remained a mystery for over 50 years, so it’s exciting to finally be able to prove their existence,” Leonardo Carrell and Lorenzo Bruzzone of the University of Trento said in an email.
Scientists say most of the holes appear to be located in ancient lava plains on the moon.
There may also be some on the moon’s south pole, where NASA plans to land astronauts in 10 years’ time.
The permanently shadowed craters there are thought to contain frozen water that could provide drinking water and rocket fuel.
NASA’s Apollo program landed 12 astronauts on the moon, beginning with Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969.
The discovery suggests that the Moon may contain hundreds of holes and thousands of lava tubes.
Such sites could act as natural refuges for astronauts, protecting them from cosmic rays, solar radiation, and even micrometeorite strikes.
Even taking into account that cave walls may need to be reinforced to stop them collapsing, building a habitat from scratch would be even more time-consuming and difficult, the team said.
The rocks and other materials in these caves, unchanged by hundreds of millions of years of harsh surface conditions, could also help scientists better understand how the Moon evolved, particularly its volcanic activity.
