{"id":1436,"date":"2025-07-17T21:43:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1436\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T21:43:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:43:09","slug":"lunar-lava-tubes-on-earth-china-completes-underground-moon-simulation-test-area-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/1436\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunar lava tubes on Earth? China completes underground moon simulation test area (video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

China has taken a new step in its long-term planning for lunar exploration with the completion of a “simulated moon underground space.”<\/p>\n

Researchers have established a practice area in a volcanic lava cave in a forest region near Jingbo Lake in Mudanjiang City, located in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The move is in response to research suggesting that lava tube<\/a> systems are present on the moon<\/a> and Mars<\/a> and could provide shielding from those worlds’ harsh radiation environments.<\/p>\n

“The underground volcanic lava pipes by the Jingbo Lake are the most similar environment on Earth to the underground space of the moon. I hope our forward-looking research can serve China’s lunar exploration program,” Li Jiaqi, a researcher at Peking University, told China Central Television (CCTV).<\/p>\n

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China is practicing robotic moon exploration in a lava cave here on Earth. (Image credit: CCTV)<\/p>\n

Experimental robots are already being used to test conducting autonomous exploration and multi-functional operations in the simulated lunar environment.<\/p>\n

“Compared with traditional lunar roving vehicles and exploration robots, it has stronger environmental adaptability and flexibility,” said Li Xianglong, a doctoral student from the Harbin Institute of Technology. “When exploring the underground space of the moon for the future, it can possess more precise perception, decision-making and operation capabilities.”<\/p>\n

Students also set up seismometers in the area to serve as a reference for future lunar experiments. China’s Chang’e 7<\/a> mission to the lunar south pole, set to launch sometime in 2026, will carry a seismograph to study the moon’s interior and detect moonquakes<\/a>, caused by tidal forces from Earth, and temperature changes affecting the lunar surface. China plans to establish an International Lunar Research Station<\/a> (ILRS) in the 2030s.<\/p>\n

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China has taken a new step in its long-term planning for lunar exploration with the completion of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,128,285],"class_list":["post-1436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}