--- title: There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Colony description: The 31 mile long cave could protect astronauts from extreme temperatures and radiation, scientists believe. canonical: https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-20T03:58:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:02.812Z article:section: Science og:title: There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Colony og:description: Scientists say the 31-mile long cave is a great candidate for a lunar base. og:url: https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c3e7d45b9d2b9f1/6988e2c886f68e37786e6f01/gettyimages-664320254.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: International Space Station transits the moon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Colony twitter:description: Scientists say the 31-mile long cave is a great candidate for a lunar base. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c3e7d45b9d2b9f1/6988e2c886f68e37786e6f01/gettyimages-664320254.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Lunar Colony ## Video: The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away [Watch (HLS stream): The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iEIHrSjw.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2017-10-09. The moon likely had an ancient, temporary atmosphere — similar to the pocket of gases that surround Earth — around 3 to 4 billion years ago, according to a new study._ by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Oct 20, 2017 3:58 AM UTC  A multiple exposure shows the International Space Station transiting the Moon above Leeds, England. A multiple exposure shows the International Space Station transiting the Moon above Leeds, England.Danny Lawson—PA Images/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Oct 20, 2017 3:58 AM UTC Japanese scientists have [discovered a crater](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/37536624/huge-cave-found-on-moon-could-house-astronauts-japan-scientists/) beneath the Moon’s surface that scientists think could one day house a lunar colony. The 50km (31 miles) long and 100m (328 feet) wide fissure was found by Japan’s Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) probe using a radar system, Japan’s Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) [confirmed](http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/AS20171018004175.html) on October 18. Japanese scientists said that the crevasse, which is located beneath a region of volcanic domes known as the Marius Hills, may be a subterranean lava tube created by volcanic activity some 3.5 billion years ago. “We’ve known about these locations that were thought to be lava tubes … but their existence has not been confirmed until now,” [said](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/19/lunar-cave-discovery-raises-hopes-for-human-colonisation-of-moon) JAXA senior researcher Junichi Haruyama. The cave has already been proposed as a possible candidate for a future lunar exploration base or human colony, the _Guardian_[ reports](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/19/lunar-cave-discovery-raises-hopes-for-human-colonisation-of-moon). Lava tubes “might be the best candidate sites for future lunar bases,” Haruyama added, because their structural stability [offers protection](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/10/18/national/science-health/japans-lunar-orbiter-discovers-moon-cave-potentially-suitable-use-shelter/#.WelnAxNL9sY) from the moon’s extreme temperatures — which can swing from 224**°**F during the day to -153**°**C at night — and cosmic radiation that bombards its surface. The discovery comes as multiple countries ramp up plans for moon missions in coming years, including [U.S-Russia](http://time.com/4960547/russia-roscosmos-nasa-moon-space-station/) and [China-Europe](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/moon-base-outpost-china-europe-chinese-space-agency-collaboration-together-a7702936.html) partnerships to build lunar bases. Japan is targeting a [manned lunar mission by 2030](http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/29/asia/japan-moon-landing-jaxa/index.html), while China last year set itself a [deadline of 2036](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-space-moon/china-aims-for-manned-moon-landing-by-2036-idUSKCN0XQ0JT) among other ambitious extraterrestrial plans that include a [Mars rover by 2020](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/24/c%5F135627828.htm). Competition has opened up to the private sector as well in this 21st century space race, with [SpaceX’s Elon Musk](http://time.com/4684849/elon-musk-spacex-moon-trip-2018/) announcing a planned [two-person private Moon trip](http://time.com/4685387/spacex-elon-musk-moon/) for 2018. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/"},"headline":"There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Lunar Colony","datePublished":"2017-10-20T03:58:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:02.812Z","description":"The 31 mile long fissure would protect astronauts from extreme temperatures and radiation","url":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/","keywords":["Space Exploration","Japan","moon","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c3e7d45b9d2b9f1/6988e2c886f68e37786e6f01/gettyimages-664320254.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c3e7d45b9d2b9f1/6988e2c886f68e37786e6f01/gettyimages-664320254.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"International Space Station transits the moon","caption":"International Space Station transits the moon","creditText":"Danny Lawson—PA Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space-exploration/","name":"Space Exploration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/","name":"There's a Cave on the Moon Large Enough For a Future Lunar Colony"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away","description":"The moon likely had an ancient, temporary atmosphere — similar to the pocket of gases that surround Earth — around 3 to 4 billion years ago, according to a new study.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/iEIHrSjw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-09T19:19:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iEIHrSjw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4990676/moon-cave-base-lunar-colony-exploration/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```