ISRO scientists have discovered a giant underground cave on the moon, which could be used as a lunar base by astronauts for inter-planetary missions.
Scientists at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), using data gathered from Chandrayaan-I's Terrain Mapping Camera and Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI) payloads, found a 1.2 km long buried, uncollapsed and near horizontal lava tube.
The hollow cave situated just above the lunar equator on the nearside of moon, can accommodate a large number of astronauts and scientific instruments, and also protect them from hostile lunar environment.
"Such a lava tube could be a potential site for future human habitability on the Moon for future human missions and scientific explorations, providing a safe environment from hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts, extreme temperatures and dust storms," a team of scientists led by A.S. Arya of SAC, Ahmedabad.
ISRO Scientists said identifying sites for permanent base for human settlements on the moon is important for further investigation.
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