Using images from the SELENE craft, Moon researchers have found a giant hole (hundreds of feet wide and hundreds of feet deep) in what they think is a lava tube. The lava tube provides protection from meteorite strikes, cosmic rays, UV radiation, and harsh temperature variations, so it is an excellent candidate for further exploration inhabitance. Although the hole is probably the product of a tube collapse approximately 3.5 billion years ago, today the lava shield does not appear to be prone to collapse.
The findings were published November 12, but they rose to public attention only this week.
NASA is working on plans to return to the moon by 2020 and wants to set up a temporary lunar colony by 2025 as part of the Constellation Program. Funding for the program remains dubious.
Lineage: CNN, ScienceDaily
Possible Location for Moonbase Found
The findings were published November 12, but they rose to public attention only this week.
NASA is working on plans to return to the moon by 2020 and wants to set up a temporary lunar colony by 2025 as part of the Constellation Program. Funding for the program remains dubious.
Lineage: CNN, ScienceDaily