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There’s a hole on the surface of Mars and scientists have no idea what’s inside: ScienceAlert

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Visitors to Mars will need a place to shelter from the radiation, temperature changes, and dust storms that plague the planet. If the planet is similar to Earth or the Moon, it may have large underground lava tubes where shelters could be found. Collapsed sections of lava tubes, called skylights, could provide access to these underground refuges.

Does this hole on Mars lead to a larger underground cave?

This image was taken by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

The pit is only a few meters in diameter and is located in the Arsia Mons region of Mars. Arsia Mons is one of the three dormant volcanoes in the Tharsis Montes volcanic group.

This colorized image of the Martian surface was created using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The three volcanoes form the Tharsis Montes, with Olympus Mons to the northwest and Valles Marineris to the east. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three volcanoes that form the Tharsis Montes. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Arizona State University
This colorized image of the Martian surface was created using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The three volcanoes form the Tharsis Montes, with Olympus Mons to the northwest and Valles Marineris to the east. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the three volcanoes that form the Tharsis Montes. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ Arizona State University)

The Tharsis region of the Tharsis Bulge is a vast volcanic plain thousands of kilometers wide. It is elevated relative to the rest of Mars, averaging about 10 km (33,000 feet) above the planet’s mean elevation. The region has clearly been volcanically active in the past, and features such as the pit are a direct result of past volcanic activity.

Several pits in the Arsia Mons region may be collapsed skylights or openings to underground lava tubes.

However, there are major uncertainties. A picture of one of them shows an illuminated side wall, which could indicate that it is merely a cylindrical pit.

These images of a pit near Arsia Mons were taken several years ago. The image on the left was taken first and scientists wondered if it might lead to a lava tube or cave. Then the image on the right was taken, which shows a side wall. The side wall may indicate that there is no tube or cave. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
These images of a pit near Arsia Mons were taken several years ago. The image on the left was taken first and scientists wondered if it might lead to a lava tube or cave. Then the image on the right was taken, which shows a side wall. The side wall may indicate that there is no tube or cave. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

The hole in the picture shown could be just a pit or shaft and not the entrance to a cave or lava tube. They are found on Hawaiian volcanoes where they are called pit craters. They are not connected to long caves or lava tubes. They are the result of a collapse that occurred much deeper underground.

These four consecutive images show how craters form. As volcanoes erupt and settle, cracks form. They slowly migrate upward and rock above them begins to fall into them. Eventually, the upward-migrating crack reaches the surface and the ceiling collapses. On Earth, plants will eventually colonize the crater. On Mars, they remain largely as they were when they collapsed. Image credit: US National Park Service.
These four consecutive images show how craters form. As volcanoes erupt and settle, cracks form. They slowly move upward and rock above them begins to fall into them. Eventually, the upward-moving crack reaches the surface and the ceiling collapses. On Earth, plants will eventually colonize the crater. On Mars, they remain largely as they were when they collapsed. (US National Park Service)

In Hawaii, craters range from 6 to 186 meters (20 to 610 feet) deep and 8 to 1140 meters (26 to 3740 feet) wide. The Arsia Mons crater in the main image is only about 178 meters (584 feet) deep.

We know much more about lava pits and tubes on the Moon than we do about those on Mars. We know that some of them are thermally stable at about 17°C. We also have better images of them, which provide fascinating glimpses of boulder-covered floors.

Spectacular view of Mare Tranquillitatis crater with the sun high in the sky, revealing boulders on an otherwise smooth floor. The 100-meter-deep crater may provide access to a lava tube on the Moon. Image credit: By NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University - http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13518, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54853313
Spectacular view of Mare Tranquillitatis crater with the sun high in the sky, revealing boulders on an otherwise smooth floor. The 100-meter-deep crater may provide access to a lava tube on the Moon. (NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)

There is a lot of thought being given to how these lunar caves and lava tubes might be explored, and conceptual designs are being developed for robots that could explore them. Perhaps astronauts on the Moon could shelter in inflatable habitats inside these tubes, protected from temperature changes, radiation and micrometeorites.

But Mars is a different question. There is no reason why there shouldn’t be lava tubes there. In fact, Mars’ gravity is much weaker than Earth’s, and that should allow for much larger tubes.

Images from Mars show grooves, i.e. collapsed tubes. Probably not all of these tubes have collapsed and formed grooves.

One pit on the Martian volcano Pavis Mons is particularly fascinating. Beneath the pit is a kind of cavity, but its nature is difficult to determine. Is it a lava tube? If so, it dwarfs most tubes on Earth.

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Lava tubes on Mars remain a mystery, but scientists have found numerous morphological clues that suggest they exist in abundance.

But in science, you can’t assume they’re there, even if it seems likely. There’s no clear reason why they shouldn’t be there. Could they one day provide shelter for astronauts? Maybe.

To explore it first, we need a robot mission.

This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.

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