{"id":683444,"date":"2024-07-18T15:20:58","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T19:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mymodernmet.com\/?p=683444"},"modified":"2024-07-18T14:46:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T18:46:55","slug":"lunar-cave-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mymodernmet.com\/lunar-cave-confirmed\/","title":{"rendered":"Recently Discovered Lunar Cave May One Day Serve as a Base Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo:NASA\/Goddard\/ASU<\/p><\/div>\n

As beautiful as the Moon is, its surface is not especially hospitable to humans. Temperatures at the equator range from 250°F (121°C) during the day to -208°F (-133°C) after dark. Add in micrometeorites and high levels of radiation and it seems unlikely that astronauts will ever spend extended periods of time on the Moon’s surface. However, according to a new study published in Nature<\/a><\/em>, the first confirmed lunar cave has been identified and could eventually be a base camp for astronauts on long-term missions.<\/p>\n

Scientists have been theorizing about lunar caves for at least 50 years. In 2009, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)  launched in order to make a 3D map of the Moon. It gathered evidence in 2010 of very deep pits, including one on the Sea of Tranquility, near where Apollo 11 landed in 1969.<\/p>\n

The radar imaging of this 300-foot-wide pit has now been reanalyzed using new signal processing techniques. As a result, University of Trento scientists Lorenzo Bruzzone and Leonardo Carrer determined the pit is indeed an opening to a cave that is as long as 14 tennis courts and 130 feet wide.<\/p>\n

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