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Radar evidence of accessible Moon cave conduit below Mare Tranquillitatis pit
- netcraft 2y agoI always love it when new science is done with old observations
- nly 2y agoI mean, this is why some untouched rock samples from the moon missions were supposed to be kept in sealed airtight containers for decades to come - so future scientists could use better techniques
- teepo 2y agoFound this at least [1]: "In 2010, as part of the ongoing Luna Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) NASA mission, the Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a pit in Mare Tranquilitatis,” said Professor Lorenzo Bruzzone in a statement. “Years later we have reanalysed these data with complex signal processing techniques we have recently developed, and have discovered radar reflections from the area of the pit that are best explained by an underground cave conduit. This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the Moon." [1] https://www.iflscience.com/the-first-cave-has-been-found-on-the-moon-is-it-ready-for-occupation-75103 https://www.iflscience.com/the-first-cave-has-been-found-on-...
- jvanderbot 2y agoI can't help but think of the Moon is a Harsh Mistress every time I hear this news.
- dylan604 2y agoSo we're now saying the specific type of cheese that the moon is made from is Swiss?
- klyrs 2y agoThis has long been suspected due to the spheroidal indentations in the lunar surface.
- madaxe_again 2y agoThis is a remnant of the Great Fondue period shortly after the moon’s creation.
- dunham 2y agoIt's Wensleydale, as documented in "A Grand Day Out".
- tailspin2019 2y agoThat documentary was full of holes.
- mcswell 2y agoYes, but who cut the cheese?
- CapeTheory 2y agoThat would be the vending machine on the skis.
- krunck 2y agoI hate it when scientific results are behind a paywall.
- bryant 2y agoEmail the authors. They tend to be happy to share copies.
- dorkwood 2y agoHave you done this yourself? I've tried it in the past after reading a blog post about its effectiveness. I am yet to receive a response.
- bryant 2y agoYes, with this paper in fact. Leonardo responsed pretty quickly lol
- TaylorAlexander 2y agoWould be cool if there were some sort of world wide… connection system of some sort so the authors could share their data without needing to respond to individual emails.
- CamperBob2 2y agoResults that we, the taxpayers, already paid for.
- rbanffy 2y agoThere is a little bit more info at https://www.media.inaf.it/2024/07/15/tubi-lavici-lunari/ https://www.media.inaf.it/2024/07/15/tubi-lavici-lunari/ (in Italian)
- floxy 2y agoI suppose the Artemis III landing location is probably set in stone at the south pole, and even if it weren't, there probably wouldn't be enough time to explore a cave. Maybe we can get some hopping pit-bots there sooner rather than later: https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.07799 https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.07799
- UberFly 2y agoTotally. I can't wait for the photos at some point. The caves must have just moved to somebodies shortlist.
- imglorp 2y agoThis would also change the mars vs moon colony equation. A ready made radiation shelter of substantial volume means none of that shielding or digging equipment would need to be brought from Earth. Move-in ready.
- evaneykelen 2y agoThere likely are lava tubes on Mars too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_lava_tube https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_lava_tube
- wongarsu 2y agoSimilarly the Chinese program is so far only planning for landings and a moon base at the south pole. But I wouldn't be surprised if China squeezes in an extra manned or rover mission to investigate this. It'd be a pretty cheap win for their Moon program over Artemis.
- kjkjadksj 2y agoI imagine there is a massive benefit to trying to secure and claim this cave before others have a chance to. Turn key Cheyenne mountain complex on the moon with little complex lunar excavation required? Yes please, says every nations strategic space command at once. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more such sites, undisclosed for fear of competition settling on the site, but already identified for future basebuilding purposes.
- rbanffy 2y agoI guess we'll need to develop climbing equipment for astronauts. It's a 120m wall with a 25m cave under it. I'm also betting the cave has a sizeable ice trap in it.
- IIAOPSW 2y agolunar gravity
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- rbanffy 2y agoand a jetpack
- wizardforhire 2y agoMaybe something like this? https://youtube.com/watch?v=qL1WqN1XKK0&pp=ygUdU3RhcnRyZWsgNCBtb3VudGFpbiBjbGltaWJpbmc%3D https://youtube.com/watch?v=qL1WqN1XKK0&pp=ygUdU3RhcnRyZWsgN...
- wongarsu 2y agoWe could also go retro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYsSsdplqLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYsSsdplqLg NASAs space-grade version was a bit bulkier, but same idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnC--JjDBw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnC--JjDBw Sadly the modern space version is far less useful because of safety concerns.
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- 1970-01-01 2y agoGet on your NASA minibike [0] and gain enough momentum to ride up the cave wall and out of the hole. [0] https://pulispace-blog-hu.translate.goog/2012/03/31/a_holdmoci?token=ff715f09cf691a83746c0f4463efd7c2&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp https://pulispace-blog-hu.translate.goog/2012/03/31/a_holdmo...
- bloopernova 2y agoCould you imagine being the first person to ever explore an underground cave system on another planet? On Mars, maybe stromatolites or other bacteria live in these caves!
- stragies 2y agoHollywood has made lots of movies where this person then goes on to inadvertently kill us all when they get home to earth. Or crash-land, or ..
- lelanthran 2y ago> Could you imagine being the first person to ever explore an underground cave system on another planet? I think there's a documentary on that: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/
- bazzargh 2y agomore appositely https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Men_in_the_Moon_(1964_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Men_in_the_Moon_(1964_fi... if we do find a note in the cave saying claimed on behalf of Queen Victoria...probably best to leave.
- irrational 2y ago> they discover a battered Union Jack flag on the surface and a handwritten note, dated some 65 years earlier, claiming the moon on behalf of Queen Victoria. Stranger still, the note is written on the back of a court summons for one Katherine Callender from the village of Dymchurch in England. This reads like the beginning of a Doctor Who episode.
- bazzargh 2y agoNigel Kneale, who wrote the screenplay, famously wrote Quatermass, so you're in the right area - that was a big influence on early Who. Kneale hated the idea of Doctor Who though, and refused to write for it - he said "It sounded a terrible idea and I still think it was." (specifically, he hated that it was designed to frighten small children)
- malaretv 2y agoNAC Imagery of one such pit in Mare Tranquillitatis https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/layers?prjExtent=941477.6067599%2C251651.249888%2C942185.6067599%2C252075.749888&layers=NrBsFYBoAZIRnpEBmZcAsjYIHYFcAbAyAbwF8BdC0ypOAJmnQA5mtF8jSAiPAJwLcAXNwAWAF3EAHAM5CA9PICOAWwC0UvgHsAHgE8AdAW0BjAwEMZeAwFMAJnnkAzEwHMAlmoBG7nM81aAG4A7jZetjo2APwE5no2fAC8xlomOOYmAGRa7naJ8jIJ8jYy4lp8NvIpJvLB5QDW8u4q5q4l8i1S8oxw0PJwGPIAsgygAOy9zGPIAEoGnQalFeImovYGJlquBuLuTpkAXonQmTrHmXrnXlp2eoHuNsHJeOl8ajZKWSYqdgD6MiY+O4pOJEm1xL9dgQbPMZKJuJBuOI9FIbMJuHxLOIEgjuLEvDZBCIRvRxpNpjMAMK49IqNHE0YTaBTWbUygUIA&proj=10 https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/layers?prjExtent=941477.606759...
- ge96 2y agocool site
- system2 2y agoWhy aren't these findings or studies published as blog format? You'd think these would be available to humanity in 2024.
- muziq 2y agoThis sounds like the film The Silent Sea unfolding..