Determining the safest Mars caves for future astronauts

When astronauts land on Mars someday, they might have to live in lava caves or lava tubes to survive the harsh radiation that rains down on the Martian surface every second. But which caves could offer them the best chance ...

What's under this hole on the surface of Mars?

Human visitors to Mars need somewhere to shelter from the radiation, temperature swings, and dust storms that plague the planet. If the planet is anything like Earth or the moon, it may have large underground lava tubes that ...

Mapping lava tubes on the moon and Mars from space

Sometimes, all you need for a new discovery is some creative math. That was the case for a new paper by Edward Williams and Laurent Montési of the University of Maryland's Department of Geology. They released a brief paper ...

A collapsed Mars lava chamber seen from space

Lava tubes and chambers attract a lot of attention as potential sites for bases on the moon and Mars. They provide protection from radiation, from temperature swings, and even from meteorites. They beg to be explored.

Chinese astronauts may build a base inside a lunar lava tube

Caves were some of humanity's first shelters. Who knows what our distant ancestors were thinking as they sought refuge there, huddling and cooking meat over a fire, maybe drawing animals on the walls. Caves protected our ...

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