Lava orbits below the surface of both the moon and Mars are large enough to be the houses of planetary bases, as humans continue to explore the cosmos, suggests a newly published study.
Research shows that the tubes are probably between 100 and 1,000 times the size of those on Earth and can protect humans from cosmic radiation. The tubes are also likely to be up to 100 feet wide and up to 25 miles long.
“Lava tubes were able to provide stable shields from cosmic and solar radiation and micrometeorite impact that often occurs on the surfaces of planetary bodies,” the study’s lead author, Franceso Sauro, said in a statement. “In addition, they have great potential for providing an environment in which temperatures do not differ from day to night. Space agencies are now interested in planetary caves and lava tubes, as they are a first step towards future exploration of it. lunar plane. also NASA’s project Artemis) and after finding life (past as well as present) in the surface of Mars. “
(Credit: University of Bologna)
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To come up with their findings, Sauro and the other researchers looked at lava tubes in a variety of different regions on Earth: Hawaii, the Canary Islands, the Galapagos Islands, Australia and Iceland.
“We measured the size and collected the morphology of lunar and Martian javelin chains (collapsed lava tubes), using digital terrain models (DTMs), which we obtained using stereoscopic images of satellite and laser altimetry taken by interplanetary probes,” study co-author, Riccardo Pozzobon, added. “We then compared these data with topographic studies of similar column chains on the Earth’s surface and with laser scans of the inside of lava tubes in Lanzarote and the Galapagos. These data might establish a constraint on the relationship between column chains and subterranean cavities that are still intact. “
It is likely that the lower gravitational pull on the Moon and Mars affected their early volcanic activity billions of years ago, which could explain why the tubes are significantly larger than those seen on Earth.
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Given its size, the tubes on the moon could “be an extraordinary target for exploration of the subsoil and possible settlement in the broadly protected and stable environments of lava tubes,” Pozzobon added.
The study was published in the scientific journal Earth-Science Reviews.
This is not the first time that researchers have suggested underground structures on the moon as a possible home for life. In 2017, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency discovered an enormous cave beneath the lunar surface, something it described as a “very important” discovery, because of its value for both science and human expansion in space.
NASA is preparing for a return to the moon in 2024, through its Artemis program, the successor to the Apollo program. In April, the space agency detailed plans to place a base on Earth’s natural satellite.
Researchers learn more about the past of Mars. A study published in March suggested that the Red Planet had two unique reservoirs of ancient water that once flowed deep beneath the planet’s surface.
In May, scientists discovered 4 billion-year-old organic molecules containing nitrogen in a Martian meteorite, suggesting that Mars may have been “blue” in its past, with water covering the planet’s surface.
In June, researchers suggested that Mars may have been a ringed planet in the ancient past, because one of its moons, Deimos, has a slightly altered orbit suggesting that something was responsible for its light tilt.
NASA’s long-term goal is to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s.
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