A City Inside A LAVA TUBE!

Matt Williams, Universe Today

What the if your whole city sat inside a giant lava tube on the Moon, and to step outside, you rode an elevator up through a hole in the roof? Science writer Matt Williams of Universe Today is our guide. You'll learn how rivers of lava left behind hollow tunnels big enough to hold a city, and why it's surprisingly cozy inside. We even get into what happens when a scientist spots something alive on Mars. Grab your spacesuit and press play!

Inspired by "NASA Selects GIMLI to Search the Marius Lunar Pit for a Potential Lunar Base Site" by Matthew Williams, Universe Today, October 8, 2026. https://www.universetoday.com/articles/nasa-selects-gimli-to-search-the-marius-lunar-pit-for-a-potential-lunar-base-site

Matt Williams on Patreon, home of his podcast "Stories from Space": https://www.patreon.com/cw/houseofwilliams
His books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Matthew-S-Williams/author/B00502B9VM
The video Matt mentioned about China's lunar plans: https://youtu.be/_j2PeM5kuWM

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When she's not studying zombie fungus at Harvard or helping us break the universe every week, our very own Gaby Paniccia writes science fiction. Her short story "The Automatic Grocery Store" is now featured on the popular podcast Escape Pod! Listen here: https://escapepod.org/2026/02/19/escape-pod-1033-the-automatic-grocery-store/

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Philip, Matt & Gaby

 

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— Cheers from Philip, Matt and Gaby