We are familiar with terms like lava, volcano, etc. But what about lava tubes? This is a tunnel formed
by an intense flow of molten rocks due to volcanic explosions under the world’s surface. The space
community has recognised that speleology (scientific study of caves and karst features) can be applied
for future planetary missions; both on orbital surface and subsurface ones. We have heard about
Earth lava tubes which are found by Speleological exploration and mapping shield volcanoes.
Recently Researchers of university of Bologna and Padua made a study on these lava tubes on Mars
and Moon, found out some interesting facts which lead to solutions for a long year debate among the
planetary geologists.
Related to these comes the Collapse lava tubes (pyroproducts) interpreted as sinuous collapse chains
and skylights in lunar and Martian volcanic regions. These collapse chains might have been caused by
asteroids piercing the tube walls. The study has found a fact these lava tubes on Mars and Moon could
act as a shield from Cosmic and Solar radiation. Using high resolution pictures, the researchers studied on specified lava tubes and made a comparison with that of lava tubes present in Hawaii, Canary Islands, Australia, and Iceland. “According to high resolution tube skylights taken by using high resolution pictures, the researchers studied on specified lava tubes and made a comparison with that of lava tubes present in Hawaii, Canary Islands, Australia, and Iceland. “According to high resolution tube skylights taken by interplanetary probes, we can also find lava tubes not only on Earth but also on the subsurface of Mars and Moon,” Francesco Sauro, one of the researchers.
When we compare these lava tubes with that of Earth, we could amazingly find that the Martian and
Lunar tubes are 100 and 1000 times wider than the Earth’s tubes and have typically a diameter of 10 to 30 meters.
Till now two training programs for astronauts had been carried out by ESA which focuses on
exploration of underground systems (CAVES) and planetary geology (PANGEA).
Are these lava tubes beneficial to mankind ?
Yes, it is. These protect us from meteors that don’t burn up easily in Martian and Lunar atmospheres.
They also contain useful chemicals like water ice and volatile chemicals that can be used as fuels. Then, as mentioned above, it can act as a shield from cosmic and solar radiations. Due to these reasons, in future it will be appealing for human habitat.
Challenges in the exploration
Some engineering challenges of placing habitats within such impressive caves, is that the presence
of basaltic rocks in the interior, which could be razor like sharp and makes the terrain very uneven. Thus, it is not easily accessible. Another one is that researchers can only find satellite images of skylights. Differentiation of skylight from a simple hole in the ground is tricky. Thus, discovery of ideal sites for human sub lunar or sub Martian habitation becomes a tedious process and requires intermediary steps.
Although there are challenges, we are looking forward on further exploration on these lava tubes on
Moon and Mars, Mainly on Moon’s lava tube as it can contain a small city within its walls.
Reference: https://www.livescience.com/radiation-mars-safe-lava-tubes.html https://www.space.com/18519-mars-caves-lava-tubes-photos.html
You may also like to read: https://shasthrasnehi.com/nasa-esa-to-bring-martian-rocks-to-earth/
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