Background: this feature revisits a 2024 study. The result is not new this week. TRENTO, Italy, July 15, 2024 - Scientists have demonstrated that a lava tube cave exists beneath the surface of the Moon.^[1] The research was led by the University of Trento in Italy and published in Nature Astronomy.^[2][3] The cave opens from a pit in Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquillity, and is likely an ancient lava tube.^[4] The team analysed radar data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter,^[5] recorded by its Mini-RF instrument during a 2010 observation.^[6] NASA described the result as evidence, from an international team, of caves beneath the Moon's surface.^[7] Scientists had theorised for at least 50 years that such conduits exist under the lunar surface.^[8] They matter for exploration: the Moon's surface faces extreme temperatures, high radiation and the risk of meteorite strikes,^[9] and caves may offer safe sites for future infrastructure.^[10] Space Nugget. Lava tubes form when the surface of a lava flow cools into a hard crust while hot lava keeps flowing underneath. When the eruption ends and the lava drains away, it can leave a long, hollow tunnel. Where part of a tube's roof collapses, it leaves a pit, sometimes called a skylight, that can open a way inside. Earth has many lava tubes, in places such as Hawaii and the Canary Islands.