Apollo 14 astronauts visiting Idaho’s Craters of the Moon in 1969. (Courtesy of NASA)
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of six guest opinions commemorating the Craters of the Moon National Monument centennial.
Craters of the Moon is a unique and fascinating natural wonder that has captivated the imagination of visitors and scientists alike. Over the last 100-plus years, this vast ocean of lava flows, cinder cones, and sagebrush steppe has proven to be a breathtaking landscape. The harsh and stark environment is also ideal for space exploration research.
This small, isolated park has been an outdoor research laboratory on geological, biological, ecological, and other topics. A remarkable number of studies have been conducted at the park, offering insights into such weighty topics as the formation of our planet, the resilience of life in extreme environments, and the impact of climate change.
What can Idaho’s Craters of the Moon tell us about climate change?
In keeping with its name, Craters of the Moon has served as a space exploration research site for more than 50 years. In 1969, four Apollo astronauts visited the park to study volcanic geology in preparation for collecting rock samples on the Moon.