Ice From Underground Lava Tubes Offers Possible Water Supply for Moon Missions
From Seeker
The north pole of the moon appears to be riddled with dozens of pits leading to underground lava tubes, according to new research released Jan. 11. If these belowground caves host vast amounts of ice — which scientists believe is possible — astronauts could harvest the ice and use them for future moon missions.Read more: https://www.seeker.com/exploration/ice-from-underground-lava-tubes-offers-possible-water-supply-for-moon-missionsData from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter pinpointed the pits on the northeastern floor of the, which is at about 72 degrees north latitude. Each pit is about 50 to 100 feet across (15 to 30 meters) and located along a lunar sinuous rille, or lava tube, which were once underground tunnels filled with lava.
Discovering potential lava tubes at the moon’s north pole represents a boon for future space explorers. While the moon hosts hundreds of known lava tubes, most of them are in regions with little ice. The northern ones, by contrast, appear in an area with known ice.
In fact, that's why lead researcher Pascal Lee, a planetary scientist at the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, looked at the north pole in the first place — to find an easier way to access the ice. The ice at the surface appears to be mixed in with regolith, aka moon dirt, which would make it hard to extract.
"You would have to bulldoze tons and tons of earth," Lee told Seeker. "You can't even count on solar power, due to the weird lighting conditions, and the temperatures are very cold. It's physically possible, but presumably not economically viable."
I don't understand why establishing a lunar base hasn't been a priority until just recently under, ugh, Trump. Maybe this stuff was already in the works before Trump came along but I think a lunar base is an obvious next step in space colonization. The lessons we learn on the moon can then be applied to Mars.
It would be cool if this water supply could enable geoengineering and a green moon!
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This makes me think that aliens should exist. Maybe not in this galaxy but the universe has so many resources for just humans.
Thats an interesting study. If possible, it will open up new research possibilities in the space research.
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