NASA wants to explore moon caves that one day could shelter astronaunts

From Fox 35 Mission Control. Could astronauts live in caves on the moon? Well, NASA wants to find out. That's right. A new mission will explore deep craters that could actually be caves on the lunar surface. Fox 35's Esther Bauer live on the Space Coast now. Esther, the caves could be shelter for astronauts eventually, right? Jack, that's a big possibility to keep astronauts safe from radiation and potential meteor strikes. These caves were likely created billions of years ago, but now NASA wants to know what's in them. inside. NASA is heading here to the Marius Hills pit on the surface of the moon. Would it even be possible to to use for astronauts in the future? That's the big question. These caves were likely formed billions of years ago from volcanoes on the moon's surface. You have these lava tubes and so basically these are holes in the ground created by the flow of lava. But lava isn't flowing anymore so the caves could be a safe space for future astronauts. A cave could provide shelter or shielding, if you will. Shielding them from dangerous radiation or fast-moving fireballs. Any micrometeoroids could land on the surface. NASA is working with the Planetary Science Institute and Honeybee Robotics who will make the instruments. We're told researchers will use tools including ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors, and a gravimeter to look beneath the surface with cameras providing imagery of the surface and pit walls. I've remotely sensed The characteristics of this cave first. Characteristics like how deep the cave is, what's inside of it, and if it could really be a ready-made habitat for people to live in on the moon. And then go out onto the surface when they're ready to do exploration. We don't know exact date for when this specific mission will launch, but it is part of the moon base program. NASA has said it wants to start building out that base as soon as next year. Reporting in Brevard County, Esther Bauer, Fox 35 News.