New data from the LRO spacecraft suggests a network of caves on the Moon :: NASANET

Using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), an international team of scientists 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 cavern extending more than 60 meters from the base of the shaft. The borehole is located about 370 kilometers northeast of the first human landing site on the Moon in the Sea of ​​Tranquility. The full extent of the cavern is unknown, but it may extend several kilometers underwater.

Scientists have suspected for decades that the Moon has underground caves, just like Earth. Holes that could lead to caves were discovered in images from NASA’s lunar orbiters, which mapped the Moon’s surface before NASA’s Apollo missions landed on the Moon. The existence of a well was confirmed in 2009 in images from JAXA’s Kaguya orbiter, and many more have since been discovered on the Moon using surface images and thermal measurements from LRO.

“Now, analysis of Mini-RF radar data shows us how far these caves might extend,” said Noah Petro, an LRO project scientist based at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Like the “lava tubes” found here on Earth, scientists suspect that lunar caves formed when molten lava flowed beneath a cooled lava field or 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 would open up that could lead to the rest of the cave-like tube.

Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data from seven powerful instruments, making invaluable contributions to our knowledge of the Moon.