In a first step towards uncovering the Moon’s subterranean secrets, in 2019 we asked for your ideas to detect, map and explore lunar caves. Five ideas were selected to be studied in more detail, each addressing different phases of a potential mission.

This study from Canadian aerospace company Canadensys investigated scouting and mapping lava tubes from the Moon’s surface. Photographs of some lunar pit craters clearly show a cavern beneath the surface. This has raised the exciting possibility that at least some lunar pits are ‘skylights’ into extensive lava tubes, however there are also geologically plausible mechanisms for the existence of much smaller, more localised voids that are less useful to explore. This project investigated first scouting out prospective lunar pits using a small, inexpensive lunar-surface rover mission that would measure the gravitational field around pits to search for the presence of lava tubes. This information could be used to plan a more advanced mission that can enter tubes via pits.