When astronauts return to the lunar surface in the next couple of years, they’re going to be looking for a spot to set up a moon base. But unlike here on Earth, they can’t just pull out their phones and use a GPS… after all there aren’t any global positioning satellites orbiting overhead.
00:00When astronauts return to the lunar surface in the next couple of years, they're going to be looking for a spot to set up a moon base.
00:10But unlike here on Earth, they can't just pull out their phones and use a GPS.
00:14After all, there aren't any global positioning satellites orbiting overhead.
00:18So what are they going to do?
00:19Well, Science Alert reports it's likely they might use some arithmetic that was invented nearly a millennium ago.
00:25It's called the Fibonacci Sphere, and it essentially uses a math trick to evenly place points upon a round object like the moon.
00:32So using measurements previously taken by NASA, the research team used a computer simulation to place 100,000 evenly placed points on the lunar surface,
00:40allowing them to map more accurately its slightly auspherical shape and get a better understanding of actual distances between points on the moon.
00:48For instance, they were able to account for the fact that the moon's poles are closer to its center than any point on its equator,
00:54revealing the slight oblong nature of Earth's only natural satellite.
00:58The research team even used the same technique and ran their calculations on Earth,
01:02finding that their math matched up perfectly with what we already knew about our planet,
01:06confirming the method, and letting future astronauts rest assured they can find their way around the moon.
