Underground cave discovered Life on the Moon may be possible

Scientists have discovered an underground cave on the Moon where astronauts could live, and they suspect there could be hundreds more.


Scientists studying the possibility of life on the Moon have made a promising new discovery: a large underground cave.

For decades, scientists have suspected that the Moon could harbor caves beneath its surface. Now, a new paper by a team of Italian researchers provides evidence for this theory.

Authors Leonardo Carrer and Lorenzo Bruzzone, from the University of Trento, said: “Moon caves have remained a mystery for more than 50 years. It is therefore exciting to finally be able to prove their existence.”

The team estimates that hundreds more could be hidden beneath the lunar surface, and they believe that instead of building houses on the Moon, one could live in the existing caves beneath it.


The cave is located deep in a pit called the Mare Tranquillitatis pit, probably formed by the collapse of a lava tube. There are no active volcanoes on the Moon today, but billions of years ago its surface was covered in lava.

NASA's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) has detected more than 200 of these pits on the Moon, meaning there could be hundreds of underground caves. These caves could offer future astronauts protection against extreme conditions on the lunar surface, researchers reported in a paper published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Astronomy.

Professor Katherine Joy said: “The thick rock cave ceiling is ideal for protecting people and infrastructure from the extreme day-night temperature variations of the lunar surface and blocking high-energy radiation.”