Lava tubes, also known as a pyroducts, are massive tunnels underneath the surface of planets which are the result of lava flows making their way to the surface during a volcanic explosion. On Earth, they can reach up to 40 metres in diameter.
Lunar lava tubes are solid candidates for human settlements, due to their size, scope, and relative preservation, researchers who analysed these structures on the Moon, Mars and our own planet concluded in their recent study published by Earth-Science Reviews.
Analysing 3D images of collapsed and intact lava tubes on Earth, the Italian team of researchers tried to compare them with all available satellite pics of these collapsed structures on Mars and on the moon. This let them to model the size, eccentricity and depth from the surface of the possible intact pyroducts on these two cosmic objects.
The Valentine Cave lava tube in Lava Beds National Monument, California
If Earth’s lava tubes can reach a maximum size of 40 meters in height and width – “like a very large motorway tunnel”, according to the study’s co-author from the University of Padova, Riccardo Pozzobon, on Mars they can get as large as 400 meters in diameter. The moon’s lava tubes are potentially larger though, scientists note, with lunar structures possibly ranging from 500 to 900 meters.
In general, these giant tunnels can indeed act as solid sites for human habitats on these two objects, holding some stark advantages to the Martian and lunar surfaces. Lava tubes can provide a clear shielding function when it comes to solar radiation and bombardment from meteors that don’t burn very easily in their atmospheres. They are also home to some useful volatile chemicals inside, as well as water ice.
Lunar pit in north-central Mare Fecunditatis
While it is still not very likely that they can be fully filled with the air to allow potential inhabitants to breeze naturally inside, it is still possible to establish human settlements within these voids, “either to host humans or for storing equipment”, Pozzobon told Live Science. There are still some challenges though.
The direct subsurface exploration would still be necessary though, the team notes, but so far it looks like it is exactly lunar lava tubes, and potentially those on Mars, if studies properly and proved sound, that can provide a place for potential settlement if we ever decide to escape Earth. Half way through a galvanic 2020, some are already wondering when that could happen.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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