Whether due to proximity, economy or certain similarities with Earth, Mars is the next objective for space conquest, particularly for manned travel and the search for life. But now to all the factors mentioned, we add the discovery of a well or cave on the flank of an ancient volcano on Mars which has generated excitement recently, for what it could reveal beneath the surface of the Red Planet.
First things first: The pit, which is just a few meters wide, was photographed on August 15, 2022 by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which was about 256 kilometers above the Martian surface at the time. This hole in the ground is not alone either. It is one of many seen on the flanks of a trio of large volcanoes in the Tharsis region of Mars.
This particular shaft is located in a lava flow on the extinct Arsia Mons volcano and appears to be a vertical shaft, but is it just a narrow shaft or does it lead to a much larger cavern? It could also be a very deep lava tube formed underground when the volcano was still active. Regardless of its origin, there are several reasons why the pits and caves of Mars are of interest. For one thing, they could provide shelter for astronauts in the future. Because Mars has a thin atmosphere and lacks a magnetic field to protect it, solar radiation affects it much more: it is between 40 and 50 times greater than on Earth.
The other interesting aspect of these wells is that They could also have astrobiological interest. Just as they would protect astronauts, they would also have been a “shield” from Martian life in the past, perhaps even today, if microbial life really exists there.
However, the depth to which these shafts descend is a mystery, and it remains uncertain whether they open into a large cavern or are contained in a small cylindrical depression. Some Martian pits have been photographed when the sun is high enough in the sky, but little else is known about them. Therefore, the idea is an aerial mission similar to the from NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which explored Mars for three years. With a probe of this type you could descend and see what is happening down there.
And with that they would meet two great exploring currents: space and speleology, and the union of both can provide us with knowledge, both about the planet and the advances necessary to explore it.
