By 
July 16th, 2024
Image credits: Elaboration of a photo of A. Romeo. LRO 3D model by NASA (Brian Kumanchik, Christian Lopez. NASA/JPL-Caltech), Earthrise photo captured on Taken on December 24, 1968 by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders
The existence of lunar lava tube caves, cozy conduits for expeditionary crews below the Moon’s surface has been reported.
Thanks to analysis of NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) radar data, what lies below the Apollo 11 landing site of Mare Tranquillitatis has been detected.
A team of international scientists, under the lead of the University of Trento, Italy, published their research findings in Nature Astronomy.
Image credits: the surface topography part of the image has been taken by ROC NAC data (Wagner, R. v., & Robinson, M. S. (2022). Lunar Pit Morphology: Implications for Exploration. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 127(8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007328)
Radar reflections
“These caves have been theorized for over 50 years, but it is the first time ever that we have demonstrated their existence,” explains Lorenzo Bruzzone, professor at the University of Trento in a press statement.
Bruzzone said that in 2010, as part of the ongoing LRO NASA mission, an onboard Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a pit in Mare Tranquilitatis.
“Years later we have re-analyzed these data with complex signal processing techniques we have recently developed, and have discovered radar reflections from the area of the pit that are best explained by an underground cave conduit,” Bruzzone states. “This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the Moon.”
Solution to the problem
An upshot of the finding is this downward realization: Cosmic and solar radiation can be as much as 150 times more powerful on the lunar surface than we experience on Earth and there is a steady threat of meteorite impacts.
Lunar conditions topside drive a need to find safe sites for the construction of infrastructure that can support sustained exploration.
Mare Tranquillitatis pit crater.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
“Caves such as this one offer a solution to that problem,” the press statement adds.
The Mini-RF principal investigator, Wes Patterson, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland points out that this research demonstrates how radar data of the Moon can be used in novel ways.
That data can address fundamental questions for science and exploration, Patterson adds, “and how crucial it is to continue collecting remotely sensed data of the Moon. This includes the current LRO mission and, hopefully, future orbiter missions.”
Underground volume
In their paper, Bruzzone and colleagues point out that several potential subsurface openings have been observed on the surface of the Moon.
“However, it remains uncertain whether such pits provide access to cave conduits with extensive underground volumes,” the researchers state.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
The radar reflections studied can be attributed to a subsurface cave conduit tens of meters long, suggesting an accessible cave conduit beneath the Moon’s surface.
This discovery suggests that the Mare Tranquillitatis pit “is a promising site for a lunar base, as it offers shelter from the harsh surface environment and could support long-term human exploration of the Moon,” the research team concludes.
To gain access to the research paper — “Radar Evidence of an Accessible Cave Conduit below the Mare Tranquillitatis Pit” — go to:
Posted in Space News
