NASA targets mysterious hole on moon in hunt for vast underground cave…

NASA has selected a project to investigate the Marius Hills Pit, a hole on the moon’s surface that could open into a cavern capable of sheltering future astronauts from radiation and extreme temperatures, the Daily Mail reports. The project, known as the Geophysical Instruments for Marius Lunar Pit Investigation (GIMLI), will combine ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors and a device measuring the local gravitational field.

The pit, found by Japan’s SELENE spacecraft in 2009, is about as deep as a 10-story building is tall, with an opening roughly the size of an American football field. The Planetary Science Institute (PSI) will lead the investigation. PSI Senior Scientist Gareth Morgan said: “Confirming a substantial lava tube would give us an insight into how volcanism operated on the moon.”

NASA said a cavern could shield astronauts from radiation, about 2.6 times higher than on the ISS. The project comes as NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon during Artemis IV in 2028.