Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Lunar Caves; Mare Tranquillitatis, LRO.

Why in the News?

Scientists have confirmed the presence of a cave on the Moon, near the site of the first lunar landing 55 years ago.
This discovery could provide astronauts with a potential habitat on the Moon in the future.

About the Cave on Mare Tranquillitatis

A study titled “Radar evidence of an accessible cave conduit on the Moon below the Mare Tranquillitatis pit” was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The study established the presence of a moon cave at the Sea of Tranquillity, a large, dark, basaltic plain on the Moon’s surface.
The cave is located 400 kilometers from where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in 1969.
It is roughly 45 meters wide and up to 80 meters long, with an area equivalent to 14 tennis courts.

Researchers analyzed photos taken in 2010 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.
They concluded that the pit was the entry point to a cave created by the collapse of a lava tube, a tunnel formed when molten lava flows beneath a field of cooled lava.

NASA launched the LRO on June 18, 2009.
LRO’s primary mission is to map the Moon’s surface in high detail to identify safe landing sites and locate potential resources.
It is equipped with seven scientific instruments, including a camera, a laser altimeter, and a radiation detector.
LRO has provided critical data on lunar topography, temperature, and radiation levels, significantly enhancing our understanding of the Moon.

Craters are bowl-shaped and result from asteroid or comet strikes.
Pits, in contrast, appear as massive steep-walled depressions.
At least 200 such pits have been discovered, with 16 believed to have formed from collapsed lava tubes due to volcanic activity over a billion years ago.

The Moon is exposed to solar radiation 150 times stronger than Earth.
The lunar surface heats to about 127 degrees Celsius during the day and cools to around -173 degrees Celsius at night.
Caves, however, maintain stable average temperatures of around 17 degrees Celsius.
They could shield human explorers from radiation and micrometeorites, making them viable for future lunar bases or emergency shelters.

Further research is needed to understand and map the structural stability of the caves.
This could be done using ground-penetrating radar, robots, or cameras.
To become viable habitats, caves would need systems to monitor movement or seismic activity and safety zones for astronauts in case of a cave collapse.

[2008] Selene-1, the lunar orbiter mission belongs to which one of the following?

(a) China

(b) European Union

(d) USA