Japan’s Selenological and Engineering Explorer (Selene) probe agency has found an immense cave that has potential to become an exploration ground for astronauts.
The cave found beneath the lunar surface by (JAXA) Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency discovered through a radar sound system orbiter is speculated to be mass and vacated.
Examination of the environment can also add to our understanding of the moon’s evolution. Jaxa believes the cave is a lava tube that was formed billions of years ago and that the rocks within this 50km (31 miles long) cave contains ice or water that contain fuel. Jaxa has not actually seen the inside of the cave but has high hopes for it; in around the year 2030, Japan hopes to send a Japanese astronaut to the moon.
The belief of the cave being a lava tube is great news, as such a landing base is great for possible lunar bases and human protection of the astronauts and their equipment from extreme temperatures.
In other Asian space race news, China unveiled last year that they have been aspiring to have a colony in space. China intends to follow up on that plan and send a man to the moon for a lunar and Mars exploration mission in the year 2036. Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s moon and Mars missions, stated: “Our long-term goal is to explore, land, and settle,”
A battle of space dominance that was just between the US and the USSR in the mid-twentieth century has spread: Russia, India, China, and the United States all share the same enthusiasm of forming a human colony on the lunar surface. As more countries look to expand, it’ll be interesting to see if other countries join the space mission wars between now and 2030. 2030 and beyond looks to be a groundbreaking time in history!
