Tags: Moon, climate, human habitability, space

Chandrayaan-1, the maiden Indian lunar spacecraft, carried 11 different scientific payloads on-board. The Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) having 5 m spatial resolution and three-dimensional viewing capability had better sensor parameters than other similar cameras flown to the Moon before this mission. TMC captured the lunar surface features with unprecedented clarity. A buried, uncollapsed and near horizontal lava tube was detected in TMC stereo images of the Oceanus Procellarum area on the Moon. A Digital Elevation Model was generated to view the feature in three-dimensional perspective. A couple of rilles have been found to be connected sub-surfacially by an undamaged lava tube, indicating that the roof of this section of the tube has remained intact since its formation. The lava tube has been analysed thoroughly in terms of morphometry, topography, surface composition and surface ages of the surrounding regions. Such a lava tube could be a potential site for future human habitability on the Moon for future human missions and scientific explorations, providing a safe environment from hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts, extreme temperatures and dust storms

Moonhabitation.pdf