Mars Caves

[baktothemoon]

Looks like there might be huge caves on mars, located near old volcanoes. Could be a good place for a future colony. Check it out.<br /><br />http://www.space.com/aol/070402_mm_mars_caves.html

 

[JonClarke]

This is a very interesting dsicovery. The night time thermal IR images I find convincing.<br /><br />It's worth noting though that caves are where you find them. they may not occur in areas that have other attractions for stations. they may also require extensive work to make them suitable for habitation.<br /><br />But they could be very interesting sites for astrobiology with freedom from radiation and sheltered microclimates.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[baktothemoon]

What would be really amazing would be if we found extremophile bacteria fossils similar to the ones we have on earth in caves, Since the ancient caves may have been formed the same way Earth ones are, and may have had similar environments.

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">What would be really amazing would be if we found extremophile bacteria fossils similar to the ones we have on earth in caves</font>/i><br /><br />I recall a made for tv/cable movie a couple of years ago about a Mars expedition that at one point had to take refuge in a cave. In that cave they did in fact find bacteria-like life (I believe they had bioluminescence too).</i>

 

[portercc]

Pretty interesting. Funny how they all resemble each other. To the untrained eye (mine) they look more like a meteor "punch" through the surface or a lava dome or tube...I would like to know if the radar might possibly reveal anything below the surface.

 

[3488]

These are the Arsia Mons lava tubes. Similar collapsing lava tubes have been found on Pavonis Mons & Ascraeus Mons, the three giant volcanoes on the Tharsis Bulge, as well as Hecates Tholus in Elysium.<br /><br />See this very informative post by rlb2. He did a fantastic job with the images of the Arsia Mons caves / lava tubes.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[pyoko]

Something with an 'entrace' of 150 m and a depth of 150m sounds more like a crater than a cave. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="color:#ff9900" class="Apple-style-span">-pyoko</span> <span style="color:#333333" class="Apple-style-span">the</span> <span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span">duck </span></p><p><span style="color:#339966" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color:#808080;font-style:italic" class="Apple-style-span">It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.</span></span></p> </div>

 

[wubblie]

"Could be a good place for a future colony. Check it out."<br /><br />NIAC is now interested in them as human habitats on mars. Top them with geodesic domes, pump in oxygen and nitrogen, set out solar panels to run heaters inside, and you have six 100 cubic meter biomes on Mars.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caves_of_Mars_Project

 

[jimcolyer]

I'm not sure I am willing to go to Mars and live in a cave.

 

[thereiwas]

Excellent radiation protection. This exact technique is described in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. Highly recommended for those interested in the nuts and bolts of colonizing Mars. Much debate on pros and cons of terraforming.

 

[wubblie]

Meant to say six 1,000,000 cubic meter biomes. They aren't really 'caves' like we normally thing of them, because apparently at least one is only as deep as it is wide. They may be more like short hollow cylinders, with a bottom that receives indirect light only. You can top them with translucent geodesic domes. Not unreasonable- some geodesic domes on earth are that scale - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eden_Project<br />Nasa could fly in lightweight folded geodesic segments to be constructed in 0.38g. Definitely beats living out of your lander. If you are going to set up a colony or factory to process Martian resources, this the place to do it.

 

[pmn1]

Well, its potentially a lot deeper (but full of rubble), all you could be seeing is the top of the collapse feature fromed as the cavity reached the surface. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[j05h]

These look like collapsed lava tubes or impacts? Building structures inside them, or worse sealing and pressurizing them, brings about many failure modes. If you can find a very solid tube, sealing it might work. Thin walls would lead to collapses.<br /><br />Following the Mars Trilogy, the First Hundred lived in tin cans at first, then purpose-built underground vaults and only later in surface domes and inside natural features (like lava tubes and the polar dome). A good working assumption is that purpose-built structures, preferably underground or partly buried, will be the norm on Mars for a good long while. <br /><br />Josh<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>