They Found a Structure on the Moon — And It’s Not Ours

Ajouté : 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]China's U22 is a robotic mission to the dark side of the moon launched on December 7th, 2018. [music] On January 3rd, 2019, it completes the first ever soft landing on the lunar far side. It lands in the von Karman crater, not far from the moon's south pole. Scientists are interested in this area. Cold, permanently shadowed craters at the poles contain water ice. These ice patches are uneven and are likely to be ancient. In the south, most of the water ice is concentrated in craters, and at the North Pole, it's spread more sparsely. In any case, this ice can be used once a long-term manned mission lands on the moon. Anyway, several days after U2 lands, it closes down its operating systems and hibernates [music] through its first lunar night.

[00:00:52]It wakes up on January 29th, 2019. All its tools operate normally. The rover travels 390 ft during its first full lunar day. One lunar day lasts for about 14 days, and a lunar night has the same duration. Moving and exploring during the day, and switching off during the night becomes the rover's routine.

[00:01:16]It's the eighth lunar day when U22 stumbles across something incredible.

[00:01:21]This discovery makes the scientists put off all other plants for the mission.

[00:01:26]They focus on figuring out what the strange material found by the rover is.

[00:01:31]In the beginning, this lunar day is no different from any other. It begins on July 25th when the [music] rover starts making its way through an area pockmarked with tiny impact craters. U22 is helped and monitored by the driver team from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. On July 28th, the team is preparing to shut the rover down for a midday nap. The sun is high in the sky.

[00:01:57]It means there are high levels of radiation and [music] scorching temperatures that can damage the machine. Before powering U22 down, the scientists [music] are looking through the pictures taken by the rover's main camera. That's when they spotted [music] a small crater filled with something that looks shockingly different from the surrounding landscape. Unable to identify the gel-like substance, the team orders the rover to check this bizarre finding. U22 [music] cautiously nears the crater to examine the weirdly colored stuff. The machine uses special equipment [music] that detects the light reflected off the substance. It's supposed to help the researchers [music] to understand the structure of the material.

[00:02:37]Unfortunately, the nature of the unusually colored finding has [music] remained a mystery for over a year.

[00:02:45]No wonder that both the finding [music] and the fact that initially there were no images of the enigmatic stuff sparked curiosity all over the world. [music] The only available description of the substance was that it looked like a randomly colored [music] shiny gel.

[00:03:00]Something that's rather odd for the dusty aid surface of the moon. But finally, the mystery seems to have been solved. The researchers have analyzed the information received from the rover's equipment. As expected, the substance turned out to be made up of rock, greenish and glistening brechia in a sample no larger than 20x [music] 6 in. It's kind of like a geologic version of jello salad with fruit inside.

[00:03:26][music] If you melt it down, it'll look glassy.

[00:03:31]Brea consists of sharp stones joined together by a chalky substance. The sample found on the far side of the moon is made up of a mix of different minerals. [music] The main is a type of silicut that's one of the most common components in both the moon and Earth's crust. The piece also contains some glass, [music] which means it could have formed during a volcanic eruption. But volcanic activity on the moon stopped more than 3 billion years ago. That's why the researchers are almost sure it's unlikely to be the source [music] of the unusual finding.

[00:04:06]The material could have been created by a massive asteroid, [music] comet, or meteorite that once hit the moon. During the collision, the pressure and temperature were so high that huge amounts of rock instantly melted. Some [music] pieces cooled down rapidly enough to form glass. The rest gathered at the center of the impact crater and grew colder more slowly, forming a new rock. The substance was likely [music] not formed in the vonarman crater, but in the nearby Fininsson and Alder [music] craters. The hollow where the rover made its finding was just 7 ft across. [music] Whatever left it had to be no wider than an inch, but then it would be too small to create such a large piece of brechia.

[00:04:50]It's [music] interesting that the material is similar to the samples collected by the astronauts from NASA's Apollo missions. One of those samples [music] was made of dark broken shards of minerals glued together. It also contains some black shiny glass. It's not clear though whether it's the same as the stuff discovered by [music] YouTube 2. When the rover took photos and made its measurements, it was rather dark in the area. [music] The quality of the images isn't that great. The experts also [music] explained that the mission is examining a previously unexplored area of the moon. That's why they don't have any samples from that region to compare them with the greenish shiny substance U22 found. But if their guesses turn out to be true, then the far side of the moon might have more in common with the Earth-facing [music] one than we used to think. But what's so special about this dark side [music] of Earth's natural satellite? And why can't we see it?

[00:05:50]It's all because of the phenomenon known as tidal locking. Earth's only natural satellite rotates around its axis once in 27 days. It's the same amount of time it needs to go around our planet. That's why you always see the same face. To be precise, 59% of the moon's surface is visible to people. It means that you can catch glimpses of the satellites far side at some times of the year. The moon's side we can't see is quite different from the one facing Earth. It doesn't have dark spots that are visible at night. Those are lunar basaltic planes called lunar marriia. They were created by ancient volcanic eruptions.

[00:06:32]Those happened about 3 to 4 billion years ago. Instead of planes, the far surface of the moon has [music] countless craters and tall mountains.

[00:06:41]One of the ideas about such a striking difference between the two sides is based on the collision theory. It claims that billions of years ago, Earth collided with another planet or some other massive space body. After that, the debris from this collision crashed with something that would later form our moon. That's why the satellites landscapes differ so greatly.

[00:07:05]A more recent theory suggests that the Earth-facing part of the moon is warmer because of the heat radiated by our planet. During the period of volcanic eruptions, it was cooler on the farther side. That's why the minerals there became solid faster. They formed a protective layer shielding the moon's insides against the meteorites. But each impact left an impressive crater. At the same time, a much softer crust on the front-facing side of the moon spewed lava every time a meteorite hit it.

[00:07:36]After this lava cooled down, it covered the impact craters. Even though the far side is often called dark, both sides get almost the same amount of sunlight, [music] the side we see looks a bit brighter because of the glow coming from Earth.

[00:07:52]There are two reasons why people are interested in exploring the far side of the moon. After leaving our planet, many radio waves get blocked by Earth's natural satellite. If astronomers could build their radio and optical telescopes on the dark [music] side, they would get much more data. There would be no problems with any kind of interference.

[00:08:12]The telescopes would also be shielded from the glare of daylight coming from our planet. If telescopes were set up inside craters, they would also be protected from solar radiation.

[00:08:23]Astronomers would be able to get an incredibly clear view of the far regions of the universe. [music] Plus, scientists believe there are great amounts of helium 3 on the opposite side of the moon.

[00:08:34]>> [music] >> Earth is protected from solar winds that carry this gas by its magnetic field.

[00:08:40]But our natural satellite [music] doesn't have such a shield. That's why experts believe the moon can be a perfect place for helium 3 mining. This rare [music] element can be later used as the fuel for fusion reactors.

[00:08:56]Technological progress does not stand still and over the past decade, the resolution of images of the lunar surface has improved greatly. [music] Many pits have been discovered on the surface and some of them are really impressive in size. The largest are hundreds of feet deep. However, technology is not yet advanced enough for us to study the bottom of such pits in detail. That's why a recent discovery is surprising. It turns out that huge pits can extend deep into the rock of the moon. It's a groundbreaking discovery. Let's figure out why. So, look at this giant underground cave.

[00:09:28][music] Leonardo Carrer and Lorenzo Brouson from the University of Trento were thrilled to finally confirm the existence of such structures on the moon. They analyzed images taken by the mini RF instrument on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2010. [music] The original images didn't have excellent resolution, so the authors had to do a huge amount of work [music] using modern data analysis and modeling techniques. But first things first, why does it all matter so much? Well, instead of building homes on the surface of the moon, we might be able to live inside these natural caves, they could offer protection from dangerous things like harmful space radiation, extreme temperature swings, and even meteorites.

[00:10:11]According to planetary geologist Wes Patterson from John's Hopkins, even though we'd still have to bring materials from Earth to make those caves habitable, [music] using them would be a lot easier and cheaper than building bases on the surface.

[00:10:24]Based on the collected data, the cave is about [music] 150 ft wide and up to 260 ft long, which is just a bit smaller than a football field. [music] It's located in a deep pit called the Mare Tranquilitatus Pit, which likely formed when an ancient lava tube collapsed.

[00:10:42]Although the moon has no active volcanoes today, billions of [music] years ago, its surface was covered with lava that flowed through valleys, carving out these tubes below the surface. Over time, some [music] of the lava tubes became unstable and collapsed, creating pits like the one in question. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, [music] LRO, has already found more than 200 of such pits on [music] the moon. It means there could be hundreds of hidden caves waiting to be explored on our satellite.

[00:11:11]When publishing their findings in Nature Astronomy, the researchers suggested that the caves could offer future astronauts a safe place to live and work, protecting them from the moon's extreme conditions. And extreme they are. [music] One of the biggest challenges of living on the moon is its temperatures. The lunar surface gets extremely hot during the day, reaching [music] about 250° F, and then the temperature drops below -200° F at night. But inside the caves, the temperature could stay much more consistent. A separate study done in 2022 used computer simulations to predict that some of those caves [music] could maintain a comfortable temperature of about 63° F. Much easier to manage, right? Unfortunately, getting to the caves won't be easy. The Mar Tranquilatus Cave is over 400 ft below the surface at the bottom of a steep slope covered in loose debris. It would take some clever engineering to get up and down that slope. The options could be using jetpacks, a lunar elevator, or some other kind of technology. We must find a way to transport astronauts safely. There's also a lot more to discover. Radar technology could help scientists [music] find even more caves and lava tubes on the moon. In the future, a spacecraft with higher resolution radar could even [music] map the insides of the pits that LRO has already found. According to the researchers, this kind of complete survey could help [music] them figure out the best locations for future lunar bases and other explorations. And there's another potential bonus. Those caves could contain water. [music] Scientists have already found frozen water on the moon under the surface and impermanently shadowed craters. Tiny amounts are also scattered [music] across the lunar dirt. Water is a critical resource for any moon base, and finding it in the caves could make the idea of living there even more realistic. [music] All in all, this discovery could be a gamecher for lunar exploration. Living in natural caves on the moon might be a more practical and safer option than building something on the surface.

[00:13:09][music] It could also bring us one step closer to making the moon a place where humans can live and work for the long term.

[00:13:20]Soon, we might start constructing loads of stuff on the moon.

[00:13:25]All because India's moon mission has recently detected sulfur near the moon's south pole.

[00:13:32]This chemical element can come in extremely handy for creating infrastructure on our satellite.

[00:13:39]It's the first time this chemical element has been discovered on Earth's natural satellite.

[00:13:45]This sought after element is mostly found near Earth's volcanoes.

[00:13:50]Its appearance on the moon speaks volumes about the satellit's volcanic history and its past atmospheric conditions.

[00:13:59]The mission's rover detected this chemical element less than a week after touching down around 70° from the moon's south pole on the 23rd of August, 2023.

[00:14:10]This historic landing on the lunar surface made India the fourth country to safely land a mission on the moon.

[00:14:18]It's also the first spacecraft to touch down so close to the south pole of our satellite. It's an area of strategic importance [music] because it's believed to be home to deposits of water ice.

[00:14:31]If it turns out to be true, future missions might be able to harvest it and turn this water ice into drinking water or even rocket fuel.

[00:14:41]For two weeks, the lander carried out the data collection, mainly [music] focused on the analysis of the moon's soil and its extremely thin atmosphere.

[00:14:51]Meanwhile, the solar powered Proon rover started its quest to find frozen water on the moon. As for the lander, it demonstrated another amazing feat on the 3rd of September. The spacecraft fired up its engines and lifted itself for about 16 in into the air. Then it made a tiny hop to land 12 to 16 in away from its original position. It's kind of a big deal.

[00:15:17]Being able to get a lander back off the surface of the moon is essentially for future missions, showing that they can safely return soil samples or even astronauts back home after a lunar mission.

[00:15:30]In September, the Indian spacecraft was put into sleeping mode.

[00:15:35]The 14-day long lunar night was approaching and the spacecraft wasn't designed to collect scientific data during this period of time. So far, [music] we've learned about a few major findings of the mission. One is related to measuring the temperature of the moon's top soil [music] at different depths. Intriguingly, the surface of the satellite in that region turned out to be hotter than expected. It was believed that the temperature could be between 68 and 86° F on the surface, but it was around 158° F, way hotter than it should be. The other discovery indicates the presence of several chemical elements, including [music] oxygen. Besides, the data received from the spacecraft confirms the presence of aluminum, calcium, iron, titanium, silicon, and other chemical elements on the lunar surface close to the south pole.

[00:16:34]The rover also used special instruments designed [music] to measure quakes and rumbles beneath the lunar surface to detect some seismic activity.

[00:16:44]It brings us back to the sulfur detected thanks to the rover's spectroscope.

[00:16:50]Scientists are currently working on figuring out whether this element formed on the surface in a natural way or whether it's the result of volcanic activity or a meteor strike.

[00:17:02]Another astonishing thing found on the moon is a rock [music] and it may be the oldest known Earth rock. A 0.7 in wide chip included in a large rock collection brought to our planet by Apollo astronauts might actually be a 4 billionyear-old fragment of Earth.

[00:17:22]This finding could help us [music] paint a better picture of the intense pounding early Earth got at the dawn of its life.

[00:17:30][music] It could go like this. Soon after the rock formed, an asteroid impact might have blasted it from Earth.

[00:17:37]At that time, our planet's satellite was three times closer to Earth than it is today.

[00:17:44]The collision was so powerful that this chunk of terrestrial rock found its way to the moon. Later, [music] this fragment got engulfed in a lunar brea, a mly kind of rock.

[00:17:55]Eventually, the rock was brought back home to Earth by Apollo 14 [music] astronauts.

[00:18:01]Even though scientists had found meteorites coming from Mars and the moon before, it was the first time a rock from the moon turned out to be a terrestrial meteorite.

[00:18:10]They also found out [music] that the rock had formed in a water- richch environment at temperatures and pressures corresponding to those at around 12 mi beneath the surface of our planet. [music] In 2019, China's Chonga 4 mission made history by [music] landing on the far side of the moon.

[00:18:30]The mission's rover helped researchers visualize structures hidden deep below the surface of the satellite, revealing billions of years of lunar history. The U2 rover made this [music] discovery with the help of its lunar penetrating radar. It imaged deep into the moon's surface and listened to echoes of sound bouncing back off structures hidden from view under the surface of the moon.

[00:18:57]It turned out those structures were resting at depths of almost 1,000 ft.

[00:19:02]The research suggests that the first 130 ft under the surface are made up of layers of dust, [music] soil, and rocks.

[00:19:10]The instruments also discovered a concealed crater that must have formed after a large object slammed into the moon's surface. Long, long ago, ancient lava was likely to be flowing [music] deep underground.

[00:19:24]Researchers believe that the broken rocks around the formation might be [music] debris produced by the impact.

[00:19:30]They also found that the volcanic rock layers were thinner the closer they were to the surface.

[00:19:36]Such a thickness variation of lava flows might mean a decrease in the number and magnitude of eruptions over time.

[00:19:45]So, lunar volcanic activity gradually [music] dwindled since the moon's formation around 4 and a half billion years ago.

[00:19:55]On the far side of the moon, there is one of the largest and oldest impact craters in our solar system, [music] the South Pole Aken Basin. Unfortunately, from Earth, you can only see its outer rim, which looks like a huge chain of mountains.

[00:20:10]It's a ginormous 8m [music] deep dent stretching for more than 1,500 m in diameter and covering 1/4 of the moon's surface.

[00:20:21]Astronomers are sure that this crater appeared when an asteroid collided with the moon around 4 billion years ago. And now [music] look at this gigantic chunk of metal the size of four states of Connecticut. As for its weight in pounds, it's enough to say that the number contains 18 zeros.

[00:20:41]This mysterious mass is hidden about 180 m under the moon's surface somewhere in the middle of the South Pole Aken [music] Basin.

[00:20:51]It was discovered when GRA, which stands for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory Mission, gathered [music] data about our natural satellite. When examining this information, scientists noticed that in one place on the moon's surface, there was a weird change in gravity. After researching this phenomenon, they concluded that something mysterious was weighing down the basin floor there.

[00:21:16]So far, [music] researchers haven't figured out the origin of the bizarre lump, but there are several theories.

[00:21:24]One of them claims that the finding is a chunk of dense oxide, which appeared when the moon was just taking its shape.

[00:21:30]At that time, the satellite was still covered with ancient oceans of magma, and the lump could be formed at the final [music] stages of its cooling.

[00:21:39]However, most scientists support another theory according to which the puzzling mass is part of the giant asteroid that once created the South Pole Aken Basin.

[00:21:49]Since the thing is metallic, it's probably the iron nickel core of the asteroid.

[00:21:56]There might be a labyrinth of lava tubes on the moon. Not so long ago, astronomers received the results of underground topography and discovered a massive cave under the surface of Earth's satellite.

[00:22:09]It could be the result of the lunar volcanic activity that happened [music] more than 3 billion years ago. Streams of lava hardened, creating a thick, hard crust on the outside, but inside it kept flowing, melting the rock and creating tunnels and caves.

[00:22:28]Numerous small pits in the moon's surface discovered by NASA seem to be the openings to such lava tubes. If this theory is confirmed, the underground tunnels might serve not only as a convenient location for human crude space missions, but also as much needed water sources for astronauts.

[00:22:51]August 23rd, 2023. A day when India's Chundreion 3 spacecraft made history by becoming the first to touch down on the lunar south pole, a place we can't normally see from Earth.

[00:23:04]What makes this lunar hideway so fascinating to scientists? Well, it turns out it's hiding something precious. Lunar ice.

[00:23:14]This place is believed to be more abundant with this ice than what we found up north. And it's not hard to see why scientists are so buzzed up about it. It's a frozen water source and it could become our key to building a permanent lunar home or even fueling missions all the way to Mars.

[00:23:32]Scientists knew about this ice for over two decades since the NASA spacecraft accidentally stumbled upon it during one of the missions. Then in 2018, NASA triumphantly declared that they're 100% sure about it. They said that the south pole of the moon is abundant with water.

[00:23:51]Now, picture this. Future lunar settlers could tap into this water supply. It could help us sustain life in the barren lunar landscape.

[00:24:01]Plus, by cleverly splitting the water into oxygen and hydrogen, we could receive both air and rocket fuel. All this will make moon missions more feasible and self- sustaining.

[00:24:13]It's also a great glimpse into the past.

[00:24:16]This ice, maybe as old as the moon itself, could unlock the moons and Earth's deep mysteries.

[00:24:24]But it turns out that water isn't rare in space at all. There might be lots of planets out there where life could thrive. We know this because we started finding water vapor around stars. And this water is remarkably similar to the water in our own solar system.

[00:24:41]This discovery suggests that the water on Earth originally came from space.

[00:24:46]Water forms around stars in the cloud of extremely hot vapor. Then it turns into ice and sticks to tiny dust particles.

[00:24:54]These particles stick together over time and become bigger objects like comets, planets, and other things.

[00:25:01]Some of these become comets and planets in our own solar system. And this is how water is being spread across the universe. And it may be how it got to our planet and the moon, too. Scientists think that the lunar ice might have journeyied here eons ago. Maybe it hitched a ride on water-rich asteroids that smacked into the moon's surface.

[00:25:23]All this has big implications for us.

[00:25:26]The southern pole is an ideal canvas for humanity to establish a real moon base.

[00:25:32]Imagine brick domes connected by secret underground tunnels.

[00:25:36]They'll be bustling with people busily operating computers.

[00:25:41]Some others will be cruising the lunar landscape in their jeeps or on their way to mine precious resources. We have some pretty cool ideas on how to build this.

[00:25:50]First, you probably imagine hauling hefty and water draining shelters all the way from Earth. But maybe there's a more effective way. Think about our history as a civilization. Every time we venture to a new place, we surveyed the surroundings for available resources and use them to survive and thrive. This is how we spread across our own planet. So why shouldn't we spread across the moon the same way? Now you might wonder what resources the moon might offer. We know about the ice and it can be turned into water, but we can clearly see that our planet lacks lush greenery and edible food.

[00:26:30]Well, it might not be obvious, but the moon does have something to offer.

[00:26:34]Mineral resources and sunlight.

[00:26:37]Unlike Earth, where the sun rises and sets, the lunar poles offer quite a beautiful sight. The sun gracefully orbits the horizon the entire day, which means [music] it can provide an almost uninterrupted source of power.

[00:26:53]Imagine living in [music] a world bathed in perpetual sunlight. I'm sure the solar panels will love it. me not so much. Still, we could use [music] not only the sun's light, but also its heat.

[00:27:05]Honestly, we should just use everything.

[00:27:07]If we're left [music] with spare metal while producing oxygen, find a purpose for that metal, too. We need to treat the environment responsibly, not only on Earth, but on the moon as well. [music] Which is why scientists are learning how to turn the moon's most abundant resources, regalith, [music] into sturdy bricks. They've been quite inventive in figuring out how to create moon bricks.

[00:27:30]Scientists want to use the sun's heat to melt lunar dust layer by layer, essentially creating a 3D printer for moon dust.

[00:27:39]Engineers have also cooked up bricks using solar ovens and zap [music] lunar soil with microwaves. They become quite adept at it.

[00:27:48]So yeah, perhaps we're going to establish a little brick factory on the moon and build regalith [music] houses.

[00:27:57]It's like Minecraft in real life. As soon as you find some cool new material, you got to build a tiny house with it.

[00:28:04]If successful, these bricks could be used to construct entire buildings, potentially covering inflatable modules or giving new life to abandoned landers.

[00:28:15]So, will astronauts need to become skilled brick layers? Well, they won't do everything themselves. We'd have to create a small automated system involving robots working collaboratively. Humans will, of course, oversee the construction site.

[00:28:30]Despite all this automation, scientists believe that living on the moon is going to be, well, call it cozy. The designs may involve stacked living quarters or multi-purpose areas.

[00:28:44]However, there would be some challenges, too. On the moon, things get extreme.

[00:28:49]Imagine scorching temperatures that can go up to 212° F during the day. And at night, they plunge down to a chilly minus 290°.

[00:29:00]And it's not just the weather. The moon gets relentlessly exposed to solar radiation, cosmic rays, and micrometeorite impacts. All these things gradually wear down anything on its surface.

[00:29:13]Another big challenge is the lunar dust.

[00:29:15]On the moon, there's no air to breathe, and the dust there can cause problems.

[00:29:20]And this one isn't only regular dust.

[00:29:22]It's super clingy and can even make astronauts sneeze and have watery eyes as if they're having a lunar hay fever.

[00:29:30]It can also damage equipment and space suits. It's not something you want to mess with.

[00:29:38]Scientists have found that the dust is made when meteors hit the moon, creating tiny particles and sharp glass shards.

[00:29:45]It's toxic, and its tiny particles can float around in low lunar gravity, making it hard to breathe.

[00:29:52]Unlike on Earth, the moon doesn't have wind or rain to clean it away. So now they're studying it to find out how to prevent this annoying problem from ruining their entire mission.

[00:30:05]There's more to this lunar haven than meets the eye. Scientists also want to delve into the mysteries of low frequency electromagnetic waves there.

[00:30:13]These waves are whispers from the far reaches of the universe.

[00:30:18]These elusive signals have remained hidden from us for ages. We only caught some cacophony of radio and other background noise, but that's it. On the moon's dark side, however, we can finally record and study them. Studying these waves will help scientists to unlock the secrets of the universe's origins. It's not just about the Earth or the Moon.

[00:30:41]We're talking about peering back to the very beginnings of our world.

[00:30:46]Our new lunar lab might help us to forever reshape our understanding of the cosmos.

[00:30:54]So NASA has some big plans on the moon now. Their Aremis mission completed a successful return to Earth in December 2022 after nearly a month in space.

[00:31:05]It ventured far beyond the moon. This mission proved the capabilities of some of our recent technological developments that will help us explore Mars. The goal of Artemis is to establish a lasting presence on the moon. They want to create a gateway like a [music] space station in orbit around the satellite to help with the landings. Artemis 2 is set to carry astronauts to lunar orbit in 2024. And during Artemis 3, which should take place in the mid 2020s, two astronauts [music] will have touched down near the moon's south pole.

[00:31:40]It's quite possible that the lunar base will be built within the next couple of decades. So stay tuned.