An international team of scientists is investigating lava caves on the Moon, which could be a good place to conduct research in the future, but also serve as shelters. The problem of the strength of the ceilings of lunar caves has been addressed by Dr Marcin Chwała from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology.

The results of the Wrocław scientist’s research, conducted in collaboration with Prof. Goro Komatsu (from the Italian Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti – Pescara) and Dr Junichi Haruyama (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), are presented in the publication ‘Structural stability of lunar lava tubes with consideration of variable cross-section geometry’.

In the publication, the authors proposed a so-called backward approach. They analyse a very large number of model cross-sections, checking the obtained examples of lava tubes and, using the available information, match the results to the parameters of lava tubes observed on the Moon. In this way, they can determine the size of the caves responsible for a given collapse at a given rock ceiling thickness.

Read more: https://pwr.edu.pl/uczelnia/aktualnosci/ksiezyc-pelen-jaskin-czy-mozna-je-wykorzystac-13173.html