Moon's Giant Lava Tubes Could Be Stable Enough To Shelter Entire Cities

hngn.com ^

[BenLurkin]

"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," said David Blair, a graduate student in Purdue's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary sciences. "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."

The researchers applied known information about lunar rock and the moon's environment as well as civil engineering techniques to make their findings. They found the stability of these lava tubes depended on width, roof thickness, and the stress state of the cold lava. The results suggested these types of tunnels could be stable if they matched the determined criteria.

[bk1000]

thing.

[tumblindice]

I’d like to be, under the moon
In an octopus’s lava tube lagoon.

[martin_fierro]

[skinkinthegrass]

"No operating your Interrossiter device after 11PM."for some of you "This Island Earth", shall be on 10pm, next
Saturday on a retro-sci.-fi. movie channel show on ME-TV.

[John Valentine]

Not a single word after word no. 4 means a durned thing.

[mrsmith]

Deep, narrow craters- which there are plenty of- are a much better choice.
Cover the top with cheap plastic and excavate around the inside of the base.
Two layers of protection against air leaks, protection against meteorites and radiation, and a view. It’s also more compact.

[smokingfrog]

http://www.space.com/26575-lunar-pits-and-lava-tubes-could-house-astronauts-video.html

[logi_cal869]

“We must go to the moon and fill the holes! It’s a moral imperative!!!”

[toucan]

So it takes us millions of years to move out of caves and now we’re moving back in? I don’t think so.

[a fool in paradise]

You’d have to seal the whole thing, can you trust the “ground” below it (or is there a network of “tubes” underneath it)?

Pipe dream stuff, really.

We can’t even send a man to the moon right now, kind of early to be talking about selfsustaining cities there.

[a fool in paradise]

That’s exactly what I want: to live in a lava tube on the moon.

Sleep in a tube in a tube.

[Revelation 911]

the horta always reminded me of school lunch pizza with burned cheese

[trebb]

I didn’t know the moon had giant lava tubes.

The moon was created the last time the Yellowstone caldera blew. The lava tubes were originally part of the earth.

[BenLurkin]

Excellent.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Moon's Giant Lava Tubes Could Be Stable Enough To Shelter Entire Cities

Can we pick which ones? I nominate Seattle, San Francisco and Minneapolis.

[D Rider]

Dwelling space for several hundred thousands of our people could easily be provided. A computer could be set and programmed to accept factors from youth, health, sexual fertility, intelligence, and a cross section of necessary skills.

Naturally, they would breed prodigiously, eh? There would be much time, and little to do. But ah with the proper breeding techniques and a ratio of say, ten females to each male...