Moon Cave Could Shelter Astronauts, Scientists Say

Whether you can see the man in the moon depends on your imagination and your vantage point, but scientists in India seem to have found a man cave there. At least, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization report that they have discovered a huge underground chamber on the moon, according to siliconindia.com.

The cave could provide "a safe environment from hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts, extreme temperatures and dust storms," scientists from the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad said in a research paper published in Current Science.

An instrument on the Indian lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 revealed a cave that is about 130 yards wide and just over a mile long near the moon's equator, in the Oceanus Procellarum area.

The scientists identify such caves as lava tubes, which they say “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."

The tubes would provide a dust-free environment and would need little construction to accommodate humans, the scientists say.