A new study about the lava tubes found under the moon's surface have recently suggested that it can be larger and more stable than previously thought, making it as a potential place for humans to live in. Researchers of the study has explained that as they create the model of tunnels which was apparently left over from volcanic activity in the moon's youth, they believe that it could potentially be up to three miles (5 km) wide, which has then raised the hope for subterranean bases.
Lunar's Lava Tube: Could It Hold Human Life?
According to reports by Daily Mail, due to the formation of these lava tubes, geologists believe that they are formed from streams of magma which ran dry, leaving channels through the solid rock. In the same way, scientists were found to have been convinced that the same structures are likely to be found under the lunar surface, based on tiny gravitational changes and images of cave openings gleaned from lunar orbiters.
Furthermore, as per Click Ittefaq, a team from Purdue University in Indiana has allegedly used computer modeling techniques to analyze how large these tunnels could potentially grow. On Earth, scientists have compared that the conditions mean that the tubes are often limited to 30 meters across, but the gravitational evidence suggests on the moon they could be much bigger. Consequently, their study has revealed that the stability depended on the tube's width, the thickness of the roof and the physical stress on the rock.
Ultimately, the researchers has also revealed that earlier this year, it was found that NASA scientists calculated it may be possible to return to the surface of the moon within the next five to seven years for a total cost of just $10 billion (£6.4 billion). They said a lunar base could double as a commercial mining base to allow the moon's resources to be exploited.
