Humans could live in caves on Moon: Scientists find lunar pits with comfortable temperature
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Loading... - Kendra Cox
- 28 Jul 2022
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When humans return to the Moon in the coming decade and more and more research is pushed in and around its orbit, one of the biggest prerequisites will be to ensure conditions that aid the survival of the species on this airless world. Scientists have now identified thermally stable locations in lunar pits that could one day act as shelters.
These pits have temperature conditions that hover around 17 degrees Celsius and make thermally stable sites for lunar exploration compared to areas at the Moon’s surface that experience temperatures up to 127 degrees Celsius during the day and minus 173 degrees Celsius during the night.
Scientists using data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) found these pits, first discovered in 2009, to be a good place to boost lunar research. These pits could be a way into lunar caves that could act as a base for major research and even be used as shelters for future astronauts.
The study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters states that lunar collapse pits may provide access to subsurface lava tubes of unknown extent. "Lunar caves would provide a temperate, stable, and safe thermal environment for long-term exploration and habitation of the Moon," researchers said in the paper. Read More…
