Big hole found on the moon

By David Liu

A vertical hole on the moon has been discovered by an international team of scientists, space.com reported citing research detailed in the journal of Geophysical Research Letters in October.

The hole is said to be "as big as a city block and deep as a modest skyscraper". It is believed that this hole was a collapsed lava tube formed probably billions of years ago when the moon was still hot and volcanically active.

The discovery was made by the team led by Junichi Haruyama of the Japanese Space Agency JAXA based on data collected by the moon-orbiting Japanese SELENE spacecraft.

It has been discovered early that the moon harbors water and water ice, which many people believe may support future establishment of lunar colonies.  But one obstacle remains: the killing cosmic and solar radiations make it impossible for space travelers to dwell on the moon for long periods.

The newly discovered lunar hole may serve as a shield protecting future moon dwellers from the cosmic and solar radiations, which are known to cause cancers among other things.