Scientists have completed a demonstration of a theory debated about 50 years ago that suggested the existence of a lava tunnel beneath the lunar surface. The discovery showed that the Sea of Tranquility, where the structure is located, is now considered a promising location for installing a exploration base on satellite.
Based on a review of data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe, from NASA (United States space agency), obtained in 2010, the researchers identified that the reflections of the radar signals pointed to the existence of an underground formation. “The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube,” Leonardo Carrer, a researcher at the University of Trento, said in a press release.
The team led by scientists from the University of Trento, in Italy, demonstrated in an article published in Nature Astronomy that the structure located in the Sea of Tranquility — a region of the Moon composed of solidified basaltic lava — could offer a solution for future missions to the satellite.
Caves like this can offer protection from the lunar surface environment, which is hostile to human life due to temperatures and radiation levels that make survival there difficult.
“This research demonstrates how radar data from the Moon can be used in innovative ways to address fundamental questions for science and exploration and how crucial it is to continue collecting remote sensing data from the Moon,” commented Wes Patterson, researcher at the Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, in a press release.
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