http://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/03/24.htm#.VRFypuEavhk24th March 2015
Huge lava tubes could house cities on Moon
Old lava tubes big enough to house entire cities could be structurally stable on the moon, according to a theoretical study presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
Lava tubes big enough to house cities could be structurally stable on the moon, according to a theoretical study presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. These volcanic features could be an important target for human space exploration in the future, because they could provide shelter from cosmic radiation, meteorite impacts and temperature extremes.
Lava tubes are tunnels formed from the lava flow of volcanic eruptions. The edges of the lava cool as it flows to form a pipe-like crust around the flowing river of lava. When the eruption ends and the lava flow stops, the pipe drains leave behind a hollow tunnel, said Jay Melosh, a Purdue University distinguished professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences who is involved in the research.
"There has been some discussion of whether lava tubes might exist on the moon," he said. "Some evidence, like the sinuous rilles observed on the surface, suggest that if lunar lava tubes exist they might be really big."
Sinuous rilles are large channels visible on the lunar surface thought to be formed by lava flows. The sinuous rilles range in size up to 10 km wide, and the Purdue team explored whether lava tubes of the same scale could exist.
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 km 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 metres, 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."
Blair worked with Antonio Bobet, a Purdue professor of civil engineering, and applied known information about lunar rock and the moon's environment to civil engineering technology used to design tunnels on Earth. The team found that a lava tube's stability depended on the width, roof thickness and the stress state of the cooled lava, and the team modelled a range of these variables. The researchers also modelled lava tubes with walls created by lava placed in one thick layer and with lava placed in many thin layers, Blair said.
Only one other study, published in 1969, has attempted to model lunar lava tubes, he said.
Huge lava tubes could house cities on Moon
- Thread starter CHL
- Start date
Imma stay my black ass on the planet where all my ancestors successfully lived
Why they worrying about the moon lets work on light speed or faster transportation for the future. Alpha Centauri and our African homeland Siruis
ExcellentNegro
The Illustrious
There is still the problem of how to shield from the radiation from solar flares.
Leesy, NASA is working on a warp drive right now...like literally working on it. A physicist named Miguel Alcubierre came up with warp bubble equations back in 1994.
Leesy, NASA is working on a warp drive right now...like literally working on it. A physicist named Miguel Alcubierre came up with warp bubble equations back in 1994.
joeychizzle
光復香港，時代革命
I'm imagining the classrooms, with pictures of how life is on Earth. How you can breathe without masks, and walk the fields of grass and scale mountains. And the weekly lotteries where you get to win a week long trip to Earth.
As long as they have weed farms, I'm game.
As long as they have weed farms, I'm game.