Probably since the first moon landing, people have dreamed of building a settlement or at least a research basis on the Trabanten and could live there permanently. Until then, science and technology still have to develop, but at least a potential problem could have been done by itself. Within the mare tranquillitatis near the moon, there are craters and pits as well as caves in which a constant temperature of around 17 degrees Celsius could rule, Tyler Horvath from the University of California in Los Angeles and his team write in the »Geophysical Research Letters «. In this way, these areas differ significantly from the surface of the moon, which sometimes has extreme temperature fluctuations between minus 170 and plus 130 degrees Celsius during the day.
Man and technology would have to withstand this extreme load; a research base in such a crater, on the other hand, could be built with somewhat simpler means. The pits in Mare Tranquillitatis were discovered in 2009, and since then researchers have been wondering whether they might also lead to caves that potentially offer protection from the harsh lunar weather. according to Horvath, 16 of the approximately 200 pits known to date are probably collapsed lava tube passages: some of these offer overhangs that shade the bottom of the collapse funnels; one of the candidates also seems to lead into a large cave.
For their study, Horvath and CO evaluated heat images that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter of NASA had recorded. With the data you then feed a computer model to determine the heat capacity of the rock and the surrounding area. The results suggest that the temperatures in the permanently shaded area of the crater only fluctuate slightly during the day and remain in a temperate area on average. The researchers conclude that a cave that may be subsequently followed should also offer good temperature conditions.
The sunny area of the pit, on the other hand, could heat up to 150 degrees Celsius a day. "Since the tranquillitatis pit is closest to the moon equator, the illuminated floor is probably the hottest place on the entire moon at lunchtime," says Horvath. A moon day lasts almost 15 earth days, which leads to extreme heating; Conversely, a moon night (corresponds to 15 earth nights) leads to a strong cooling. Technology used would have to cope with this and a potential research station "outdoors" would have to cool or heat the corresponding time. The pits and caves also offer a little more protection against cosmic radiation and small meteorites.
However, not every lunar crater is suitable. Others are so deep and dark that solar radiation never gets through there and warms them up. That's why there could also be frozen water in it. Robots will be dropped there soon. The ice could then perhaps also be used as drinking water for a lunar base – and solve a second problem of permanent settlement.
