JUST IN: NASA has selected a mission to investigate whether a giant cave on the Moon opens into an underground lava tube that could one day shelter astronauts from radiation and extreme temperatures. The GIMLI project will study the Marius Hills Pit, an opening roughly 90 meters wide and 34 meters deep, using ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors and gravity measurements to determine whether a larger cave extends beneath the lunar surface. Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, will build much of the instrumentation, which is expected to ride to the Moon on a commercial lander and rover through NASA’s CLPS program. Scientists have suspected for years that lunar pits could provide entrances to vast lava tubes formed by ancient volcanic activity. Thick layers of rock overhead could naturally shield astronauts from radiation while also insulating them from the Moon’s extreme surface temperature swings, making such caves attractive locations for future lunar crews. Instead of building every habitat entirely on the surface, future astronauts could eventually use the Moon’s own geology as protection.