Cave Found on Moon for the First Time

Scientists Lorenzo Bruzzone and Leonardo Carrer from the University of Trento in Italy have discovered a cave on the Moon for the first time, the BBC reports .

The cave is located near the landing site of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, when Neil Armstrong's crew first landed on the Moon.

Researchers claim that the cave is at least a hundred meters deep. Therefore, it could be a suitable place to build a permanent base for human presence on the Moon. The cave would help protect astronauts from radiation and extreme temperatures.

"After all, life on Earth began in caves, so it makes sense that people could live in them on the Moon," Professor Carrer said.

Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, also believes the cave could be a good base to build. She suggested that in 20 to 30 years, humans could potentially live in "moon pits."

However, Sharman said the cave discovered is so deep that astronauts would likely have to rappel down and use "jet packs or a hoist" to get out.

The BBC notes that the cave has an opening on the lunar surface leading to vertical and overhanging walls, as well as a sloping floor that may go deep underground.

Scientists say there may be hundreds more caves hidden in the Moon's "underground, unknown world." The cave they found appeared millions or billions of years ago.

Carrer and Bruzzone believe the discovery will help find evidence of life on Mars, since if it did exist, the researchers believe it would almost certainly be found in caves.

Scientists note that the cave has not yet been fully explored, but they hope that ground-penetrating radar, cameras or robots can be used to create a map of it.

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