Next time you’re tempted to tell someone that he behaves as if he has been living in a cave, you might consider eating your words. Astronomers are seriously considering the idea of living in caves on the Red Planet, but they first need to find them. That’s exactly what a team of researchers from The Geological Society of America (GSA) had in mind, as they’ve found nine possible habitable caves on Mars, as a recent presentation reveals.
Surely you’re asking yourself why astronauts would need to live in a cave from Mars? The explanation is simple: the Red Planet is far from being the welcoming environment that we can all find on Earth. Therefore, finding shelter in a place away from the harsh conditions of our neighboring planet can only be a good idea.
Solar radiation is intense on Mars
The high solar radiation from Mars represents one of the reasons why living there is impossible. It’s also the reason why scientists believe that humanity has been looking for alien life on the Red Planet in the wrong way. There could be something living there after all, but below the surface, as radiation from the Sun would most likely kill all life.
Apart from the high radiation levels from the Sun, Mars is an inhospitable place for other reasons as well: the extremely low temperatures, the lack of an ozone layer, and more.
Nicole Bardabelias, who’s a geoscientist at the University of Arizona and also the scientist who presented the new findings, explained for the New York Times:
Mars has just enough atmosphere that you can’t discount it, but not enough to actually give you a significant amount of aerobraking.
She also added that you need “enough space between when you hit the top of the atmosphere and where you’re supposed to land.”
The minimum distance that separates Earth from Mars is 33.9 million miles, which is a lot more than the one between our planet and the Moon: 238,855 miles.
