New discovery: A cave on the moon

Research claims there is an empty lava tube in the Sea of Tranquility, which became apparent after a study of radar information from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

This is the first time scientists have found a cave on the moon, and there could potentially be hundreds more! The cave is approximately 130 feet deep, and it could be an ideal location for humans to build a base and live there.

Rogier Windhorst, Ph. D., an astronomer at the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU, joined Arizona Horizon to discuss the exciting discovery.

In August, the Perseid Meteor Shower will occur, and Dr. Windhorst explained where and when we can see it.

Dr. Windhorst explains how it looks like a crater but with a lunar recognizance. There’s a radar that shows the evidence of an underground lava tube cavity that leads to that crater. This is a common phenomenon that we can see in places such as Hawaii and can be livable for humans right around the entrance of the crater.

“It must’ve been running liquid rocks once upon a time since there is more solid rock surrounding it, and when it cooled off the lava eventually disappeared from the channel and left a cavity behind,” Windhorst said.

It’s possible for a human base to eventually be built in the crater and shield from the very hostile moon environment. The temperatures on the moon will range from a chilly negative 250 degrees Fahrenheit at night to 250 degrees of heat in the day for fourteen days straight. These extreme differences can be shielded by the edge of the cave as needed.

He then explains in order for humans to be living on the moon this would be a good first step as long as we find ways to get in there such as ropes or eventually elevators. When asked how this would be possible while wearing suits and heavy equipment, Windhorst explained, “You’ve backpacked with a forty-pound backpack haven’t you? The moon is one-sixth of the earth’s gravity. You can have 240 pounds on your back and it would be nothing”.

All things considered, this is a big deal and gives us a viable way to stay on the moon longer than a few days or a few weeks.

The Perseid meteor storm is basically a cloud of dust particles leftover from a comet that has been going around the sun every 130 years or so.

“You can just go outside towards Payson, make sure there’s a mountain between you and Phoenix, bring a lawn chair and around 2 in the morning look at the Northeast there will be a ‘W’ shaped constellation and right underneath it there will be one or two every minute,” Dr. Windhorst shared.