Is this the perfect spot for a lunar colony? Japan's space agency uncovers a 30 mile-long cavern on the moon that could house astronauts and protect them from deadly radiation
- Radar data taken from Japan's Selene spacecraft revealed the huge structure
- Scans revealed it is 31 miles (50 km) long and 330 feet (100 metre) wide
- Experts believe it is a lava tube created by volcanic 3.5 billion years ago
- Previous research suggested lave tubes as habitats for future space dwellers
A huge moon cave that could one day shelter astronauts from dangerous radiation and wild temperature swings has been discovered.
Data taken from Japan's Selene lunar orbiter has confirmed the existence of the 31 mile (50 km) long and 330 foot (100 metre) wide cavern.
Experts from the country's space agency believe it is a lava tube created by volcanic activity about 3.5 billion years ago.
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A huge moon cave (pictured) that could one day shelter astronauts has been discovered. Data taken from Japan's Selene lunar orbiter has confirmed the existence of the 31 mile (50 km) long and 330 foot (100 metre) wide cavern
Scientists at Japan's space agency Jaxa, along with US colleagues, discovered the underground tunnel located under an area called the Marius Hills.
A base built in such a space would help protect astronauts from the conditions they would be exposed to on the moon's surface.
Previous research identified the potential for the underground networks of tubes, which can stretch up to 40 miles (65 km), as habitats for future space dwellers.
The full findings of the Japanese team were published this week in the magazine Geophysical Research Letters.
Speaking to AFP Junichi Haruyama, a researcher at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, said: 'We've known about these locations that were thought to be lava tubes.
'But their existence has not been confirmed until now.
'We haven't actually seen the inside of the cave itself so there are high hopes that exploring it will offer more details.'
Lava tubes are found in many volcanic areas on Earth, including Lanzarote, Hawaii, Iceland, North Queensland in Australia, Sicily and the Galapagos islands.
Researchers from the European Space Agency have been exploring these formations to compare lava tube locations here on Earth with those on the moon and Mars.
They hope this will allow astronauts to prepare for the conditions they will find when they return to the moon.
The Jaxa announcement comes after Japan in June revealed ambitious plans to put an astronaut on the Moon around 2030.
That was the first time the agency had said it aimed to send an astronaut beyond the International Space Station.
The idea is to first join a Nasa-led mission in 2025 to build a space station in the moon's orbit, as part of a longer-term effort by Nasa to reach Mars.
The US also announced the country is committed to send astronauts to the moon.
Experts from Jaxa, the country's space agency, believe the cavern is a lava tube created by volcanic activity about 3.5 billion years ago.
Previous research identified the potential for the underground networks of tubes, which can stretch up to 40 miles (65 km), as habitats for future space dwellers. This image shows Philadelphia inside an approximation of a lunar lava tube
Researchers from the European Space Agency have been exploring these formations to compare lava tube locations here on Earth with those on the moon and Mars. They hope this will allow astronauts to prepare for the conditions they will find when they return to the moon
'We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundations we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond,' US Vice President Mike Pence said this month.
China and India are also developing their space programmes.
In November, China's Shenzhou-11 spacecraft returned to Earth, bringing home two astronauts from the rising power's longest-ever orbital mission.
Beijing has also unveiled illustrations of a Mars probe and rover it aims to send to the Red Planet at the end of the decade.
Nasa and other global space agencies are working hard on sending astronauts to Mars by the 2030s.
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