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If nothing else, going back to the Moon initiates the new sport of lunar spelunking.
But finding a safe habitat, possibly with a water source, goes a long way towards making human colonization possible. Also, being an ancient lava tube, IMO there's a high probability that there are many more caves available and ready to be developed into human habitats.
In many ways I feel that the probability of having war where 10 million people die in the next few years is almost the highest it has ever been in my lifetime, I for one would welcome an activity that involves the whole world.
50 km cave? That's the length of the tube or chasm. The "opening" (as described) appears to be a hole or skylight in the tube, is about 164 feet (50 meters) wide, and about 164 feet (50 meters) deep. That's a pretty deep hole. How would a person or equipment descend to the bottom? The explorer can't stay inside for long. Need air. Unless backpack air tanks can be safely and easily attached and removed, or refilled, it could be a one-way trip. Life support systems, including air, are good for 6.5 to 8 hours. https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle...e/faq/eva.html
Holes (sometimes called "skylights") are usually caused by the roof of the tube having collapsed. Also, inside lava tubes, very large rocks can fall in various spots without breaking through to the surface, and create piles of rocks like small hills. In areas where the roof hasn't collapsed, the floor can be fairly smooth, possibly littered with smaller rocks. How can large rocks be easily moved from the bottom of the hole and any that might be in the tube or blocking it?
I've been through several in Central Oregon back in the 1960's. Granted, the Earth is not the same as the Moon. But obviously collapses have occurred along some lunar lava flow tubes, perhaps over thousands or even millions of years. Here are some links showing lava flow tubes (on Earth), ceiling holes, and debris on the floor just to get an idea about lava tubes. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Location...rco_Idaho.html
I get the feeling that if I ask, "Well, why now rather than 50 years ago?" someone is going to say we now have the technology to do this.
What has been found which makes it so interesting now?
I suspect it is because other countries have expressed their intention to go there and explore and the US is afraid it will lose out in the coming land and resources grab. Having done the research, launched the spacecraft and sent back the data, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the data that has been collected by the USA.
Sorry, I cannot see all this happening because if anyone IS there before us, they will have a load more technology than we do, and that includes weapons too. Unless of course we Earthlings have negotiated a private area where we can play at being spacemen.
The current state of the attitude towards space exploration in the USA does not lend itself to getting there first. Unless, of course, the military gets a hard on about it. As they should.
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