Lunar lava cave proven to exist

15 Jul. () –

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated the existence of a tunnel in the lunar subsoil. It appears to be an empty lava tube. This milestone in knowledge of the Moon has been revealed by an international team of scientists, led by the University of Trento (Italy).

Thus, the study, published by ‘Nature Astronomy’ It is the result of an international collaboration between researchers from the University of Padua and La Venta Geographic Explorations APS (Italy), who contributed to the geological analyses and modelling of the identified conduit.

“These caves have been theorized about for over 50 years, but this is the first time we have proven their existence.“, explains Lorenzo Bruzzone, professor at the University of Trento.

In 2010, as part of NASA’s LRO mission, the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a sinkhole in Mare Tranquilitatis. “Years later, we reanalyzed these data with complex signal processing techniques we recently developed and discovered radar reflections from the sinkhole area that are best explained by an underground cave passage. This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube beneath the Moon’s surface,” he notes.

“Thanks to the analysis of the data, we were able to create a model of a part of the duct.“continues Leonardo Carrer, a researcher at the University of Trento: “The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube.”

Mini-RF principal investigator Wes Patterson of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (USA) adds: “This research demonstrates how radar data from the Moon can be used in novel ways to address fundamental questions for science and exploration and how crucial it is to continue collecting remote sensing data from the Moon..

This work has scientific significance and implications for the development of missions to the Moon, where the environment is hostile to human life. Surface temperatures on the illuminated side of the Moon can reach 127 °C, while temperatures on the unilluminated side can drop to -173 °C.

Cosmic and solar radiation can be up to 150 times more potent on the lunar surface than we experience on Earth, and there is a constant threat of meteorite impact. These conditions drive the need to find safe sites for building infrastructure that can support sustained exploration. Caves like this one offer a solution to that problem.