Caves of Mars Project

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The Caves of Mars Project is a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts funded program to assess the best place to situate the research and habitation modules that a manned mission to Mars would require.

A cave on Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
A cave on Mars as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
HiRISE closeup of the same pit ("Jeanne") showing afternoon illumination of the east wall of the shaft.
HiRISE closeup of the same pit ("Jeanne") showing afternoon illumination of the east wall of the shaft.

Caves and other underground structures, including lava tubes, canyon overhangs, and other Martian cavities would be potentially useful for manned missions, for they would provide considerable shielding from both the elements and intense radiation that a Mars mission would expose astronauts to. They might also offer access to minerals, gases, ices, and any subterranean life that the crew of such a mission would probably be searching for.

The program also studies designs for inflatable modules and other such structures that would aid the astronauts.

It is now known that water comes to the surface of Mars from time to time, but whether NASA will change the project in light of this has not been revealed.

[edit] 2007 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference

THEMIS image of cave entrances on Mars
THEMIS image of cave entrances on Mars

NASA scientists studying pictures from the Odyssey spacecraft have spotted what they think may be seven caves on the flanks of the Arsia Mons volcano on Mars. The cave entrances measure from 100m to 252m wide and they are believed to be at least 73m to 96m deep. Because light did not reach the floor of most of the caves, it is likely that they extend much deeper than these lower estimates. Dena was the only exception, its floor was observed and measured to be 130m deep. The caves may be the only natural structures offering protection from the micrometeoroids, UV radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's surface.[1]

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