Martian Lava Tubes Revisited - The Caves of Mars

I know we have visited the subject of Lava Tubes recently, still, I think these two links and the ones they lead to, will prove interesting.

They talk about Mars but consider the Moon as well. Lava Tubes might be used as a possible habitats in both cases.
- LRK -

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http://www.norwebster.com/mars/lavatube.html
Martian Lava Tubes Revisited
By R. D. "Gus" Frederick

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/index.html
The Caves of Mars

Martian Caves??
What do, duckweed, mice, Mother Goose and desert varnish have to do with Mars? Join us as we take you on a Cyber-Journey from beneath the lava flows of Oregon to toxic caves in Arizona, with many exotic side trips along the way, leading eventually to the Red Planet itself!
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A bit more about the above links posted below.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsltr.: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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http://www.norwebster.com/mars/lavatube.html
Martian Lava Tubes Revisited
Presented to the
Second Annual Mars Society Convention
Boulder, Colorado. August 12 - 15, 1999
By R. D. "Gus" Frederick

Disclaimer:
One point to keep in mind during the reading of this paper, is that I am not trained as a geologist, and that this paper is purely an exercise in speculation.

Abstract:

One of the key elements for successful long-term human occupation of Mars, is a viable habitation scheme. Countless ideas have been proposed along these lines from converted landers to inflatable domes. The advantages of most schemes thus far are that they are location independent, to an extent. The lander lands and the habitation is set up. In other words, bring the habitat to Mars.

But what if ready-made habitats were available? Select locations on the planet, which with minor modifications, would easily serve as a semi-permanent base of operations? These locations could well be lava tubes.

Lava tubes are caves formed by flows of highly fluid lava--a "river" of molten rock flowing from an eruption source, either volcano or fissure. Often as the flow progresses, the tops and sides solidify. If the flow source stops, the remaining lava may pour out, leaving a hollow "tube" of rock. Not all lava flows produce tubes. Sometimes the flow sides form large "levees" as the sides harden, and the top remains liquid.

On the Earth, the author has personally visited lava tubes on the flanks of Mount St. Helens, in Washington State, Central Oregon, the Big Island of Hawaii as well as tubes formed by fissure eruptions in Iceland. Many of the lava flows identified on the planet Mars feature the same characteristics as terrestrial flows, including lava tubes and levees. The main difference is a matter of scale: The Martian features dramatically dwarf their Earth-based counterparts.

This paper offers some speculations on the utilization of these landforms for the construction of viable human habitats. With examples from many lava tube-related features here on Earth, I will demonstrate how their much larger Martian versions could provide a quick, easy and inexpensive way to provide long-term human outposts on the Red Planet.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/index.html
The Caves of Mars

http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac01.html
About Martian Caves
Dr. Penelope J. Boston; P.I.

Natural subsurface cavities and subsurface constructs present the most mission effective habitat alternative for future human missions in the high-radiation environment of Mars. Additionally, lava tubes, other caves, cavities, and canyon overhangs are sites of intense scientific interest.

They offer easier subsurface access for direct exploration and drilling, and may provide extractable minerals, gases, and ices. Expanding our NIAC Phase I feasibility assessment of a subsurface Mars mission architecture for the scientific exploration and human habitation of caves and subsurface facilities, we propose a two-part viability demonstration of selected technologies combined into a functioning system. This system can be integrated into both robotic precursors and human missions.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac02.html
Martian Air Breathing Mice
By Denise Murphy

For any future missions to Mars, a simple and effective way for the explorers to survive would be to use the Martian atmosphere and turn it into usable, breathable air. Thanks to modern technology, the atmosphere of Mars can be compressed and adjusted to form a breathable mixture for humans.

We've been experimenting with mice and crickets in sealed environments while pumping through a breathing mixture of 40% argon, 40% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. The purpose of these experiments is to see whether or not humans can survive unaffected when breathing such mixtures. However, this breathable mixture of gases differs from that of Earth, or any other used in Space missions.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac03.html
Duckweed-Eating Martian Cave Mice

How best to effectively demonstrate basic Advanced Life Support Systems in a small, remote location or educational setting? Requirements of space, mass, and logistical factors for many remote research facilities severely limit any sort of full-sized human CELSS/ALS setup. Likewise, building such a full-sized system for educational use would be quite expensive.
Nevertheless, the need for such a system for analog testing use is essential for future Martian endeavors, especially those within the Martian underground.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac04.html
Flat Crops for Mars
Bioregenerative life support on Mars will require more than your 'garden variety' crops. Some the features we should be looking for is rapid growth, low light requirements, wide pH range and high nutrition with minimal wastes. And the simpler the required infrastructure, the better.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac05.html
The Mother Goose Project

Terrestrial lava tube caves are natural receptacles for accumulations of water. Often, due to lower temperatures coupled with the insulation properties of the surrounding rock, these accumulations are in the form of ice. Locating and cataloging similar features on Mars could be of value for the search for life and in helping to determine past climatic conditions on the Red Planet. Such features may also prove useful in future colonization efforts for shelter and as a potential source of water.

But how to explore them? One unique approach recently proposed employs specialized swarms of insect-like mini-robots accompanying one or more flexible rover/relay station robots. Utilizing a robotic fractal approach that starts with a wide view of a promising area, then zooms in to reveal detail at a series of smaller scales, the approach mimics the actions of a scientist in the field.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/niac06.html
Desert Varnish

For the past decade, we have investigated the idea that the subsurface of Mars is the most likely place to find life or its traces. We have conducted extensive geomicro-biological, mineralogical, and geological fieldwork in a variety of desert caves. We have more recently discovered that some desert surface features (e.g. rock varnish) are microbiologically and mineralogically related to those that we study in the subsurface.

As field scientists, we know that even on Earth the search for biosignatures of present life and indicators of past life depends upon recognition of structures, textures, and other data sets at widely varying spatial scales.

In this sense, life detection for Mars is a classical field science investigation.

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http://www.highmars.org/niac/education/
Educational Projects, Lessons & Resources

The Caves of Mars Project is funded by a NIAC Phase II Grant from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts.
Copyright C 2002-04 - Complex Systems Research; Inc.

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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