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New Cave Entrances Seen on Mars
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Sep 21, 2007 09:31 PM
from the oh-good-lord-what-is-that-arrgh dept.
from the oh-good-lord-what-is-that-arrgh dept.
Riding with Robots writes "The Mars Odyssey orbiter has come across what look to be openings to cavernous spaces under the surface of Mars. NASA reports the find is fueling interest in potential underground habitats and sparking searches for caves elsewhere on the Red Planet. These latest images follow other recent discoveries of intriguing places to explore. From the article: 'The find has led some to wonder if these or other caves on the planet may provide shelter to life or former life on the Red Planet. "Somewhere on Mars, caves might provide a protected niche for past or current life, or shelter for humans in the future," said Tim Titus of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff. These caves, however, likely never hosted life due to the extreme altitude of their location. "Even if life has ever existed on Mars, it may not have migrated to this height," said Cushing.'"
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Hidin' in a cave (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
But if you look at that cave over there
Yea, that one, that is me, waving, do
you see it?
Crap. (Score:2, Funny)
Caves of Mars (Score:4, Funny)
There better be something in that cave (Score:5, Funny)
Re:There better be something in that cave (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Old news, from APRIL 2! (Score:5, Informative)
See Here [space.com]
Blah
Tm
Re:Old news, from APRIL 2! (Score:5, Informative)
09.21.07 - Odyssey Finds Possible Cave Skylights on Mars NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has discovered entrances to seven possible caves on the slopes of a Martian volcano.
Sure, both reports mention a volcano's but there's no way NASA would report the same thing twice, right?
[J]
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
one million years BC on Mars, cave Martians (Score:2)
slow dow! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Mars robots (Score:5, Insightful)
That was the first question on my mind.
Re:Mars robots (Score:5, Informative)
Even if they were in range (they're not), there are two other problems. First, being solar powered, they couldn't go into the caves because they would have no power to get out if they got stuck or lost. Second, there would be no usable radio communication inside a cave because the walls block the waves.
Seems what is needed is some kind of expendable micro-bot that launches from a bigger bot.
Parent
Dune! (Score:2)
There is good reason to get to those caves. (Score:5, Informative)
Project Objectives:
The primary objective of this feasibility demonstration is to show that relatively simple, easily-deployable subsurface habitats are constructible in caves, lavatubes, and other subsurface voids. Further, we intend to demonstrate that they are suitable to sustain small animals, plants, and ultimately humans in an otherwise hostile environment.
the great march of mankind (Score:5, Insightful)
to the caves?
Futurama was right (Score:4, Funny)
Leela: "What about the great stone ass of Mars?"
Zapp: "Well, yeah. But it's way on the other side of the planet."
Dust-free caves on Mars? (Score:5, Interesting)
Why aren't the Martian caves filled with dust accumulated from the seasonal storms?
Are gases or vapors from within clearing the cave entries of dust?
( We would expect to see trails of ejecta. )
Are the caves so new or geologically young that they have not yet drifted full?
Are the caves at elevations above most of the Martian dust storms?
Layman's questions looking for non-tinfoil-hat expert answers.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Your rover is at the entrance to a cave.... (Score:5, Funny)
To your left is another passage....
In front of you is a Martian Cave Troll...
What do you do?
Use Mineral Sampling Device.
On what?
troll
Unknown command: troll
The troll hits you for 12 damage, you are dead.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I think it would be interesting to look inside these caves but I don't think we are going to find life on Mars. My reasoning is that life on Earth is absolutely pervasive. It is in every cubic centimetre of ocean and every square centimetre of the Arctic and Antarctic, and all of our deserts.
Maybe Earth life could get the kind of toehold on Mars which we postulate for Mars life, but if Mars had native life it would be everywhere. Perhaps not out in the sun but certainly under each and every rock.
The effect on micro climates would be obvious to our sensors. Instead all we see is normal energy flow, the sun rises, heats up the sand, sun goes down, sand radiates into space.
I don't disagree with you at all. I think the chance of finding life there is spectacularly slim. This is why I think the goal of looking for life should be secondary to other research aims. Exploring the caves seems like a worthy goal even aside from the life issue. They could be important in possible human settlements on the planet, both as shelter and possible sources of exploitable resources.
A large amount of the mass budget for any human habitation on Mars, whether temporary or permanent, would probab