The lava tubes on Mars and the Moon are massive; could serve as a shield against cosmic and solar radiation – Technology News, Firstpost

FP trendAug 17, 2020 17:34:46

Earth is home to several lava tubes or long volcanic caves which can be defined as “lava river channels which, at an earlier time, flowed downstream from a vent or volcanic fissure ”.

Interestingly, the basement of Mars and the Moon is also home to some of these lava tubes. The main difference between them and that of our planet is their enormous size compared to terrestrial tubes. According to a new study published in the international journal Earth-Science Reviews, the lava tubes on Mars and the Moon are respectively 100 and 1000 times wider than those on Earth.

Researchers from the Universities of Bologna and Padua studied the Martian and lunar tubes using high-resolution images and compared them to lava tubes found in Hawaii, the Canary Islands, Australia and Iceland.

They also analyzed the underground cavities that lava created underground on Mars and the Moon. They discovered that these cavities can act as shields against cosmic and solar radiation.

“We can find lava tubes on planet Earth, but also on the Moon’s and Mars’ basement based on high-resolution images of lava tube skylights taken by interplanetary probes,” said Francesco Sauro, speleologist and head of the ESA CAVES and PANGEA programs, which is associated with the University of Bologna. He added in the press release that “evidence for the presence of lava tubes was often inferred by observing linear cavities and sinuous collapse chains where the galleries crack.”

These collapse chains, he concluded, were “ideal doors or windows for underground exploration.”

Riccardo Pozzobon, a planetary geologist at the University of Padua, said the study shows the Moon can serve as a target for underground exploration and potential colonization due to the “protected and stable environments of the lava tubes”. According to the researcher, this would be enough for a large number of people due to its enormous size.