The Holes in the Moon
Spacecraft orbiting the Moon have photographed deep round holes in its plains, and at least one leads into a cave.
What was reported
In 2009, pictures from Japan's Kaguya orbiter showed a dark, round hole in the Marius Hills, a pit with sheer walls dropping into blackness. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has since found more than 200 such pits, including one about 100 metres wide in the Sea of Tranquillity, not far from where Apollo 11 landed.
From above, sunlight on some pit floors seemed to reach under an overhanging edge, which raised a question people had asked for decades: are there caves inside the Moon?
Explanations offered
The pits are thought to be skylights, places where the roof of an old lava tube has fallen in. In 2024, scientists re-examining radar data from the orbiter reported that the Tranquillitatis pit opens into a passage running at least tens of metres underground. Caves like this could one day shelter astronauts from radiation and temperature swings.
- When
- Found in 2009
- Where
- Mare Tranquillitatis, the Moon
- Witnesses
- Japan's Kaguya orbiter and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.