Ever since Neil Armstrong took his iconic “one small step” on the moon (and honestly, long before that) people have been dreaming of setting up a permanent settlement on the moon.

Having a city, or at least a small village, on the moon would offer many benefits including opportunities for scientific research, mining options, the ability to launch ships inexpensively, and maybe someday, even vacations.

One of the biggest problems with staying on the moon for any length of time is that environment is quite harsh.

The solar radiation can be deadly, the temperatures during the day are scorching hot, and the risk of small meteorites is significant.

The easiest way to overcome these obstacles is to set up the base under the ground where people would be naturally protected from these threats.

Digging a base like this would take a huge amount of heavy equipment, which is obviously hard to get to the moon.

Fortunately, scientists have found that there are potentially thousands of miles of underground tunnels that were likely formed from flowing lava many years ago.

Recently, images from previous lunar missions have been reanalyzed and experts say that they may have found a great location for an initial base.

Professor Lorenzo Bruzzone released a statement on this, saying:

“In 2010, as part of the ongoing Luna Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) NASA mission, the Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a pit in Mare Tranquilitatis. Years later we have reanalyzed these data with complex signal processing techniques we have recently developed, and have discovered radar reflections from the area of the pit that are best explained by an underground cave conduit. This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the Moon.”

Having a base so close to the location of Neil Armstrong’s first steps would also be quite symbolic.

The problem with this location, however, is that there does not appear to be any water in the area.

Lunar scientists are quite confident that there is plenty of ice on the poles of the moon, which could be melted down for water.

For this reason, astronomers are looking for similar tunnels at one of the poles. Once found, it would provide a great place to establish a foothold on the moon, which could help to put humans on the path to be a civilization that lives on more than one celestial object.

With a little luck, future generations may have people living their lives on the moon.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?