Between the lack of air and the constant bombardment of radiation and micrometeorites, humans will need some serious shelter before we can feel at home on the Moon or Mars. While inflating or 3D printing our houses could be one way to pack light for the long trip, the most efficient method might just be to move into the natural shelter that's already there. Now astronomers have systematically analyzed possible lava tubes on the Moon and Mars, and found they may be just what Red Planet realtors are looking for.
Living underground is the easiest way to escape the harsh conditions of the lunar or Martian surface, and scientists have already found a few candidates. NASA has found hundreds of deep pits in the pock-marked rock of the Moon that could make good hidey-holes from the elements, and there's evidence of sprawling networks of lava tubes below the surface.
Don't they realize this has been proven to be a bad idea?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday September 28 2017, @06:37PM (3 children)
Enjoy the ride, dear astronauts, because as soon as you land, you're stuck in a dusty cavern with 14-days nights and terrible internet latency.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Snow on Thursday September 28 2017, @06:49PM (1 child)
Yea, but think how many matches you could get on Tinder with that sweet moon selfie.
I see your machu picchu and raise you the moon. Check. Mate.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday September 28 2017, @07:38PM
Women often find it painful to have sex on sandy beaches, so you may not get laid much in Moon dust environments [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 28 2017, @07:00PM
Years of living in your mothers' basements have prepared you for the ordeal.