MADRID, July 19. (EUROPA PRESS) –
An international team of scientists using data NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has discovered evidence of caves beneath the surface of the Moon.
By reanalyzing radar data collected by LRO’s Mini-RF instrument in 2010, The team found evidence of a cave extending more than 60 metres from the base of the well..
The borehole is located more than 370 kilometers northeast of the first site of man’s landing on the Moon, in the Sea of Tranquility. The full extent of the cave is unknown, but it may extend for many miles underwater..
Scientists have suspected for decades that the moon, like Earth, has underground caves. Holes that could lead to caves were suggested in images taken by NASA’s lunar orbiters, which mapped the moon’s surface before NASA’s manned Apollo moon landings.
The existence of the pit was confirmed in 2009 based on images taken by JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Kaguya orbiter, and since then many have been discovered on the Moon using images and thermal measurements from the lunar surface taken by LRO.
Just like the “lava tubes” found here on Earth.Scientists suspect that lunar caves formed when molten lava flowed beneath a cooled lava fieldor when a crust formed over a river of lava, leaving a long hollow tunnel.
If the roof of a hardened lava tube collapses, a skylight-like shaft will open up that can lead to the rest of the cave-like tube.
Mini-RF is operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO, with its seven powerful instruments, has collected a treasure trove of data, making an invaluable contribution to human knowledge of the Moon.
NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and capabilities.