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Giant Lava Tubes Possible On the Moon
schwit1 writes: New analysis of lunar geology combined with gravity data from GRAIL suggests the Moon could harbor lava tubes several miles wide. "David Blair, a graduate student in Purdue's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, led the study that examined whether empty lava tubes more than 1 kilometer wide could remain structurally stable on the moon. 'We found that if lunar lava tubes existed with a strong arched shape like those on Earth, they would be stable at sizes up to 5,000 meters, or several miles wide, on the moon,' Blair said. 'This wouldn't be possible on Earth, but gravity is much lower on the moon and lunar rock doesn't have to withstand the same weathering and erosion. In theory, huge lava tubes – big enough to easily house a city – could be structurally sound on the moon.'" You can read their paper here (PDF). If this is so, then the possibility of huge colonies on the Moon increases significantly, as it will be much easier to build these colonies inside such lava tubes.
What he really means are giant lunar worms (ala Herbert). Just you wait, the first lunar colony will be smashed to bits by lunar death worms defending their ancestral homes from pesky, tiny intruders.
We could make a civilization within the series of tubes!
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
So the moon is made of Swiss cheese.
And would mean that earth-quality emergency medical care would be almost impossible to get.
Seriously, the last people you want to put onto a rocket and launch at several Gs up, into a high radiation environment, and then land on a desolate rock far from the rest of human society, is people who can die from hitting something too hard.
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
I. for one, welcome our... no, wait... imagine a beowolf cluster of... um... in Soviet lava tubes, er, the tubes... the intertubes... no, no... these tubes are like a car, see, in that they... they... ok, then, Netcraft confirms that these tubes... well, but BSD is definitely... Aw, futz. I'm memeless, you insensitive clods!
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.