Welcome to Your New Home, On the Moon
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has extended the bounds of real estate development with their discovery of a 1.7km long 120m wide (1.05 miles deep, 394ft wide) cave near the Moon’s equator. The cave, discovered by the Chandrayaan-1 spcecraft, could be the perfect pre-fab location for future human habitation.
Living underground would solve many of the issues associated with a moon base, namely intense radiation, micrometeorites, dust storms, and shocking temperature changes between night and day. From the researchers:
Lava tubes provide a natural environmental control with a nearly constant temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius, unlike that of the lunar surface showing extreme variation, maximum of 130 degrees Celsius to a minimum of minus 180 degrees Celsius in its diurnal (day-night) cycle
An above-ground facility would require heavy shielding, which would be difficult to ferry all the way from Earth. A cave, especially a deep one with a small mouth, would protect its occupants and require only a small area to be shielded.
It’ll be a long time before anyone can tour condos on the moon, but it’s exciting to hear space agencies taking the prospect seriously. Not having a moonscape view from my moon apartment is a small price to pay.
(Silicon India via Gizmodo, image via Wikipedia)
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