NEW YORK: If you’re a sci fi fan, you may well be vaguely miffed about the fact we’re not living on the moon RIGHT NOW. But never fear, scientists are already planning out where we’ll build the first cities up there. A team from Purdue University in the U.S.
Assessed lava tubes under the surface – and found they’d make a pretty good new home. The tubes (thought to lie under the lunar surface) would protect human settlers from cosmic radiation and asteroids. Human settlers could then fit them out with the usual accoutrements of space colonies, such as camp robot servants and unusual looking railways. Purdue University researcher David Blair told the BBC, ‘It’s the first modern re-assessment of how stable these can be.
‘We found that if lunar lava tubes existed with a strong arched shape like those on Earth, they would be stable at sizes up to 5,000 metres, or several miles wide, on the Moon. ‘This wouldn’t be possible on Earth, but gravity is much lower on the Moon and lunar rock doesn’t have to withstand the same weathering and erosion. In theory, huge lava tubes – big enough to easily house a city – could be structurally sound on the Moon.’
Pakistan to get $3b loan from Islamic Trade Financing Corporation
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