Xie Gengxin, from the Space Exploration Center at Chongqing University in southwest China, organized the visit to the Youyang base, where large-scale research on cave ecosystem validation closed are in progress.
The Youyang Cave System spans approximately 3,000 meters (9,840 ft), with the widest section measuring 130 meters (427 ft) and its highest point reaching 108 meters (354 ft).
“Earth caves provide an excellent simulation of lunar lava tubes in terms of internal structure, natural environment and isolation from the outside world,” Xie said in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.
Xie and his team first proposed in 2019 that the Moon’s hollow, tube-shaped caves, formed by volcanic activity, could be suitable for human habitation and suggested that the environment could be simulated using help of natural underground spaces on Earth.