Slashdot Mirror
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?
Don't we already know that these exist?
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
So the moon is made of Swiss cheese.
"The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress." Robert Heinlein, 1966.
One use would be for retirement communities — the thought occurred to me some 10 or 15 years ago, but then read about it somewhere in Heinlein's writings.
The low gravity of Moon would allow the elderly (and other infirm) to remain mobile for many years after they would've become wheelchair-bound on Earth... Considering the wealth of (relatively) many of the elderly in the Western world, they may be able to pay for such retirement even before some other industries take hold up there.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Very few volcanic pipes are diamond laden on Earth - primarily just kimberlites, which require a special type of volcano feed by very deep magma that's high in volatiles. They're almost all very old. The moon tends to be poor in volatiles and the depth requirements would be far greater to achieve the necessary pressures, at least 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way to the core.
Still, who bloody knows?
There's all sorts of gem possibilities on the moon, way too many to list here. They're probably the most valuable export-to-earth lunar resource we could mine at this point in time, as you can imagine what sort of premium the market would put on them even if they're pretty much the same as earth gems (let alone if they're mineral species not found on earth)
"TAMS shouldn't be destroyed. They should just tag us before releasing us into the wild." -- Maeglin
Same author -- The Menace from Earth (1957).
Not sure if it were "lava tubes" (it's probably been over 30 years since I read that), but the idea of giant caverns being possible due to low gravity + high atm pressure was sure there.
Wow. This internets thing is cool.
From Menace:
"Most of the stuff written about Bats' Cave gives a wrong impression. It's the air storage tank for the city, just like all the colonies have - the place where the scavenger pumps, deep down, deliver the air until it's needed. We just happen to be lucky enough to have one big enough to fly in. But it never was built, or anything like that; it's just a big volcanic bubble, two miles across, and if it had broken through, way back when, it would have been a crater."
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.