The
high-flying European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express has imaged Pavonis Mons –
along with a set of what researchers believe are lava tubes on the red planet.
These
features are channels initial born by hot, flowing lava which formed a crust as
the surface cooled. Lava continued to flow beneath this hardened surface, but once
the lava production ended and the tunnels left empty and the surface collapsed.
The result are elongated depressions.
Similar
tubes are well known on Earth and the Moon.
Pavonis
Mons, rising roughly seven miles (12 kilometers) above the surrounding plains,
is the central volcano of the three “shield” volcanoes that comprise Tharsis
Montes. Gently sloping shield volcanoes are shaped like flattened domes and are
built almost exclusively of lava flows.
Lava
tubes that are not collapsed have been prized by planners thinking about future
human treks to Mars. They could make for a natural habitat to guard against
incoming radiation on the red planet. But perhaps they are already a comfy home
for Martian biology?
-- Leonard David
Credit: ESA/DLR/FU
Berlin (G. Neukum).
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