Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Southeast view across the Moon’s Vallis Schröteri [Apollo 15 Metric Image AS15-M-2612].
Credit: NASA/JSC/Arizona State University

Data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission suggests that lava tubes on the Moon could have diameters in excess of more than half a mile (1 kilometer).

These features could support future long-term human exploration on the moon, offering shelter from cosmic radiation, meteorite impacts and the wild temperature swings of lunar day and night, according to a team of Purdue University researchers who performed a unique study.

Skylights on the Moon are collapses that occur over subsurface voids. Skylights occur in many terrestrial lava tubes, providing access, although sometimes requiring shimming down a rope. Shown here is a skylight in the Moon’s Marius Hills.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Here’s my newly posted story on Space.com:

Lunar Lava Tubes Might Make Underground Moon Cities Possible

by Leonard David, Space.com’s Space Insider Columnist
April 01, 2015 06:00pm ET

Go to:

http://www.space.com/28894-moon-lava-tubes-underground-cities.html