Data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) allowed scientists to conclude that the Moon contains about 200 “pits” that offer stable and human-friendly temperatures. The pits “always hovered around a comfortable 63F/17C (temperature),” NASA said in a statement Wednesday. The stable 17C temperature contrasts markedly with the rest of the Moon, which fluctuates between 127C/260F and -173C/-280F during a full lunar day.
Coping with these temperatures in other regions greatly complicates exploration of the Moon for machines and humans. That’s why the hot spots of the Moon stand out as very important regions.
“Since the discovery of pits on the Moon by JAXA’s SELENE spacecraft in 2009, there has been interest in whether they provide access to caves that can be explored by rovers and astronauts,” said the researchers, who published information about the pits in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Three authors of the paper, UCLA planetary science professor David Paige, University of Colorado Boulder’s Paul Hayne, and UCLA researcher Tyler Horvath used data from The Diviner instrument on the LRO, which has been monitoring temperatures on the Moon’s surface for more than 11 years.
The researchers focused on a mostly cylindrical pit inside Mare Tranquillitatis, the same area visited by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, because its thermal environment is more hospitable than elsewhere on the lunar surface. The group processed time-dependent 2D and 3D models using the data to understand the geometry and heat transfer that can lead to high temperatures.
The researchers concluded that the temperature inside the pit was not only comfortable, but also dependent on a cave that should have a similar stable environment.
“If a cave extends from such a pit, it will maintain this comfortable temperature throughout its length, varying by less than 1°C for an entire lunar day,” the researchers said, suggesting that the pit and others were created by the ceiling of a collapsed cave.
“For long-term colonization and exploration of the Moon, the pits may provide a desirable habitat: they are largely free from the constant threats of harmful radiation, impact, and temperature extremes,” the researchers say. It can offer more mission safety and provide a valuable stepping stone to sustaining human life beyond Earth.”
Perhaps more importantly, scientists have identified many pits on the Moon’s near side that offer the chance to communicate directly with Earth.
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