Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Short Scientific paper on the Martian holes

Could multicellular life exist in such caves?
Robert Clark — (archived)

Living Large in a Lava Tube :: Astrobiology Magazine.
"Summary (Nov 16, 2004): While the current generation of Mars missions seek out the planet's water history, another line of evidence is also required for life: heat. Active surface volcanoes may not currently exist on Mars, but the red planet has a colorful volcanic past and some enormous lava tubes that may bring polar ice to a liquid bubble."
http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1304.html

Future 'Martians' Could Live in Caves.
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 01:00 pm ET
21 March 2000
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_caves_000321.html

Mars Underground: Digging Deep for Life.
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 12:30 pm ET
05 September 2003
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_caves_030905.html

BASALTIC CAVES AND LAVA TUBES: ASTROBIOLOGICAL TARGETS ON EARTH AND MARS. Richard J. Léveillé1, Saugata Datta2. Canadian Space Agency, 6767 route de l'Aéroport, St-Hubert, QC, Canada, J3Y 8Y9 (****@space.gc.ca), Georgia College and State University, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Milledgeville, Georgia, USA, 31061 (****@gcsu.edu).
Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007) 1446.pdf
http://ilewg.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2007/pdf/1446.pdf

Oregon L5 Society
Martian "Ice" Caves.
"Introduction: Ice in Martian lava tube caves would have scientific and developmental value. These natural channels in rock may hold keys to Mars' past as well as potential resources for humanity's future.
Rationale: Terrestrial lava tube caves are natural receptacles for accumulations of water. Often, due to lower temperatures coupled with the superior insulation properties of the surrounding rock, these accumulations are in the form of ice. Historically, ice was mined from some lava tube caves (Fig. 1)."
http://www.oregonl5.org/mist/l5lpi02.html

This last is interesting because it suggests a means by which subsurface ice and/or liquid water could persist in the caves near the equator on Mars. This is important because the surface of Mars near the equator had long been believed to be desiccated, though the GRS readings on Mars Odyssey also has increasingly brought this into question.

c.f.:

Newsgroups: sci.astro, rec.arts.sf.science, alt.sci.planetary, sci.bio.misc
From: rgregorycl...@yahoo.com (Robert Clark)
Date: 2 Jun 2002 16:45:30 -0700
Local: Sun, Jun 2 2002 7:45 pm
Subject: What kind of multicellular life will we find on Mars?
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.bio.misc/browse_thread/thread/fa15d67d7b829c01

Bob Clark

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