A freshly open cave on the moon could be a safe haven for colonists.

It is possible that in the near future such images will appear in a multitude, since lunar colonists will be able to receive them.

The moon is very close to Earth by cosmic standards. In any case, much closer than Mars, to which Ilon Musk is so eager . Many scientists believe that a person must first master the moon, make it an outpost of humanity in space, and then look at Mars and other planets and satellites.

Mastering the moon is much easier to master Mars, even for purely logistic reasons. Well, people who go to the natural satellite of Earth will not have to stay there forever, the road home is always open, and if something happens, then fly to the moon - a matter of a few days. The main thing is to have something to fly. But if we are talking not just about visiting the moon, but about forming a permanent settlement there, then the main problem is its protection from external factors.

More specifically, the colonists need a safe shelter where they can accommodate people, equipment, supplies and build sealed rooms for life. You can build something on the surface of the moon, but this is not ideal, since the entire infrastructure of the colony will be exposed to high and very low temperatures. But the main problem is not even temperature, but solar radiation - on the surface of the moon it is necessary to create special protection against the radiation of the sun. This is great complicates things.
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To solve the problem, many science-fiction writers, scientists, engineers offer to live not on the surface of the moon, but under it. For example, in a crater or in a natural cavity in the lunar crust. But where to look for such a cavity?

As it turned out, there are quite a few of them on Earth’s satellite. Astronomers recently confirmed the previously proposed hypothesis of the existence on the Moon of huge lava tubes formed after the eruptions of ancient volcanoes. In the future, it is quite possible for colonists to settle in such cavities. The results of the study of natural caves on the moon, astronomers outlined in an article posted in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Press release of this material is available on Purdue University website .

Lava tubes are not uncommon on Earth, and it seems there are plenty of them on the Moon too. They are formed when the lava, flowing from the vent of a volcano, begins to flow down the slope and gradually cool. The outer layers of lava cool faster due to contact with the external environment, and inside the hot molten mass continues to move, which, leaving the natural "pipe", leaves the cavity.



The existence of lava tubes on the Moon has been talked about for quite some time, but only now one of them was found. The location of the tube was discovered because a dark place was found on one of the pictures of the lunar surface. This place is supposedly the entrance to the cave.

This assumption was confirmed by the Japanese probe SELENE ( also known as Kaguya) with the help of its radar installation. Thanks to her, the satellite is able to send a radio signal penetrating under the surface of the moon. And specialists, measuring the time between sending and receiving reflected signals, can determine the structure of the relief. In addition, the authors of the work used data on the gravitational field of the moon, which, in turn, were collected during the implementation of the GRAIL mission.

As it turned out, the cave really exists on the moon and its dimensions are enormous. The length of the lunar lava tube is more than 50 kilometers, height - 75 meters. This cave is very old, it was formed about 3.5 billion years ago due to the activity of a nearby volcano. The tube was found under the hills of Marius. According to scientists, an entire city can easily be placed in such a cave.

It is worth noting that the moon has valuable human resources. First, it is water ice, which can provide the colonists with water. Secondly, it is helium-3, which is a very promising fuel for fusion reactors. China and India, which have already announced this, intend to extract helium-3.

True, the new man’s landing on the moon, not to mention its settling, will take place no earlier than the 30s of this century. In any case, some participants in the "lunar race" say so .