Hole in Moon may serve as lunar base for astronauts
January 1st, 2010 - 6:07 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Jan 1 (IANS) In a major discovery, geophysicists have identified a vertical hole they believe is a skylight on the surface of the moon that could serve as a lunar base for astronauts.
The dark pit in an intact lava tube is located in the Marius Hills region, a volcanic area on the Moon, a report published in Geophysical Research Letters said.
The discovery was made using images from the moon-orbiting Japanese SELENE (also known as Kaguya) spacecraft. It was led by Junichi Haruyama of the NTT DATA CCS Corporation, Japan.
The scientists found that the nearly circular hole is about 65 metres (213 feet) in diameter and about 80-88 m (262-289 ft) deep and also concluded that the skylight most likely formed when part of the lava tube roof collapsed.
Lava tubes, which are commonly found on earth, are underground cave-like channels through which lava once flowed.
According to the authors, since lava tubes are sheltered from the harsh environment on the Moon’s surface, such tubes could one day be useful for lunar bases.
- Human settlement possible in moon's deep hole? - Jan 03, 2010
- Water may be trapped in lunar potholes, suggest scientists - Apr 04, 2011
- Lunar surface may be dotted with hidden, habitable tunnels - Jul 18, 2010
- How the moon gets its exospehere - Jan 04, 2010
- NASA's LRO creates Moon's most precise landscape yet - Dec 18, 2010
- 'Lunar bridge' discovered on far side of Moon - Sep 09, 2010
- Volcanoes shook up Moons far side for far longer than previously believed - Nov 07, 2008
- Moon's crystal mountains reveal its molten past - Jan 12, 2010
- Japanese probe set to crash into moon on June 10 - Jun 09, 2009
- Moon's thin 'perfume' comes from the Sun! - Jan 09, 2010
- Water discovered in Apollo moon rocks - Mar 10, 2010
- Manned lunar space station now closer to reality - Jul 22, 2010
- New type of lunar volcano discovered - Sep 20, 2010
- NASA's Cassini spots possible ice volcano on Saturn's moon - Dec 15, 2010
- Researchers create most comprehensive moon map - Dec 20, 2010
Tags: astronauts, ccs, circular hole, dark pit, geophysical research letters, geophysicists, harsh environment, intact lava tube, lava tubes, london jan, lunar base, marius hills, ntt data, selene, skylight, spacecraft, surface of the moon, underground cave, vertical hole, volcanic area