Researchers Discover A Cave on the Moon
It may be part of a cave system and could make an ideal space camp for astronauts.
It wasn’t all that long ago that I wrote about a lava tube in Saudi Arabia that humans have periodically occupied over the last 7,000 years. Of course, it’s not the only lava tube or cave that our ancestors have resided in. Caves worldwide make fantastic shelters that protect from natural elements like storms and heat.
So, perhaps it’s unsurprising that scientists think caves may serve a similar purpose for space exploration. After all, if caves can protect humans and other animals on Earth, then it stands to reason caves on, say, Mars or the Moon could be the ideal locations to set up a home base for astronauts as they explore whatever non-Earth object they’re sent to study. It’s a reasonable idea, but it’s only recently become more than an idea.
First Thought
During a volcanic eruption on Earth, lava surges to the surface from underground chambers, creating and filling passages. Cooler elements from the surface solidify the magma around the perimeter of the tubes as the hotter magma filling the cave rushes through. As the eruption ends, lava drains from the surface back to the chambers underground, leaving tunnels that can stretch for miles and miles…
