Deep Hole Found on Mars

[WhiteRose]

Leonard David
Special Correspondent, SPACE.com
SPACE.com
Wed Jun 6, 9:15 AM ET
 

A very dark spot on Mars could be an entrance to a deep hole or cavern, according to scientists studying imagery taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.


The geological oddity measures some 330 feet (100 meters) across and is located on an otherwise bright dusty lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons, one of the four giant Tharsis volcanoes on the red planet.


The hole might be the sort of place that could support life or serve as a habitat for future astronauts, researchers speculated.


Must be deep


The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) used its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument to draw a bead on the apparent deep hole - a feature that may cause more scientists to ponder about potential subsurface biology on Mars.


Because the spot lacks a raised rim or tossed out material called ejecta, researchers have ruled out the pit being an impact crater. No walls or other details can be seen inside the hole, and so any possible walls might be perfectly vertical and extremely dark or - more likely - overhanging.


HiRISE image specialists said the pit must be very deep to prevent detection of the floor from natural daylight, which is quite bright on Mars.


In April, it was announced that the NASA Mars Odyssey and its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) found near the equator seven dark spots that scientists think could be entrances to underground caves.


Meanwhile, MRO is ready to target the dark spots on Mars over the coming months as opportunities arise, explained HiRISE principal investigator, Alfred McEwen, of the University of Arizona in Tucson.


"We especially want oblique images from the west, to see illuminated walls. These are deep holes with overhanging walls, but perhaps not long caves," McEwen told SPACE.com.


Cave dwellers


Caves on Mars gives rise to thinking about subsurface life on the planet, notes Peter Smith, principal investigator for NASA's next outbound mission to that distant and dusty world, the Phoenix lander. The deeper and deeper you go down on Mars, the warmer and warmer it gets, Smith said, and at some point the conditions are just right where liquid water is stable.


Moreover, could caves be linked to underground fractures allowing water vapor to be trapped inside, Smith speculates, perhaps the sort of comfy environment ideal for biology.


Smith said caves on Mars are an exciting find. "We can't say what's in the caves. It's just that they exist. It is hard to tell from orbit. Landers can follow up on these discoveries."


Penny Boston, director of cave and karst studies at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico, has been working on a Caves of Mars Project, funded by the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts.


Not only are natural caves of biological interest, Boston says, they could also serve as habitats for future human explorers - nifty underground housing to protect against the high-radiation environment of Mars. Additionally, caves offer easier subsurface access for direct exploration and drilling, she suggests, and may provide extractable minerals, gases, and ices.

The 10 Best Mars Images Ever Top 10 Strangest Things in Space Image Gallery: A Tour of Mars Original Story: Deep Hole Found on Mars


Link to article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070606/sc_space/deepholefoundonmars

[Krispy Kreme]

So THAT'S where Axl was during 1994-1998!

[Prometheus]

crap time to move the invasion fleet......

[Axl4Prez2004]

I heard it looked like Uranus...yes, pronounced your anus.   

[Genesis]

Not to sound like an asshole, but why can't they spend all this research money on something worthwhile, maybe feed the poor or something. Are there some shitty microbes in a hole on Mars? Who the fuck cares? All this crap is just like the SETI project. Millions wasted on bullshit. Scientists....

[Axl4Prez2004]

Genesis, we must look forward.  Space exploration isn't just about satisfying curiosity...we (mankind) may actually need to get off this rock one day. 

Remember, there are trillions upon trillions of solar systems we must get to to spread the word of our fucked-up organized religions.  What will happen to the aliens if we don't teach them our major religions that all have irreconcilable differences that render one another void???   

Seriously, scientific exploration will bring answers to age-old questions and solutions to future problems we haven't even imagined yet.   

[polluxlm]

Not to sound like an asshole, but why can't they spend all this research money on something worthwhile, maybe feed the poor or something. Are there some shitty microbes in a hole on Mars? Who the fuck cares? All this crap is just like the SETI project. Millions wasted on bullshit. Scientists....

Yeah, god forbid we actually try and move forward as a race. Or do you fancy the idea of cave life?

If we raised the tax for the rich with a 1/10th of a percent we could feed the poor forever. But no, let's blame the space programme...

[GunnerOne 84]

Not to sound like an asshole, but why can't they spend all this research money on something worthwhile, maybe feed the poor or something. Are there some shitty microbes in a hole on Mars? Who the fuck cares? All this crap is just like the SETI project. Millions wasted on bullshit. Scientists....

Well you failed. We either leave the planet at some point in the future or we all die, end of story. With an attitude like yours, Americans would all still be in Europe, because no body would have funded exploration trips.

[Lucky]

who cares about the pore.
I'd rather spend my bucks on microbes.

the pore should handle them self.
if they stopped multiplying as much as they do, maybe they'd have more food to eat.
some fuck somewhere produces 15 children, and then he bitches how his kids are dying.
Well, he should have thought about it before.

[Axl4Prez2004]

as crude as it sounds...Lucky has a point. 

[polluxlm]

who cares about the pore.
I'd rather spend my bucks on microbes.

the pore should handle them self.
if they stopped multiplying as much as they do, maybe they'd have more food to eat.
some fuck somewhere produces 15 children, and then he bitches how his kids are dying.
Well, he should have thought about it before.

While the principle thought is true, it gets a little more complicated when looking at how the processess behind our economy works.

None of the countries who make deals with WTO and IMF have increased their wealth. The reason for this is because it was never meant to. We make far too much money keeping these countries down, and that's why it keeps going on. It's not just a third world country problem either, all over the western world you see the same symptoms. The BNP may have gone up considerably, but it only benefits the minor elite.

So it may not be our responsibillity to help them out of poverty, but it is not our right or place to force them down/keep them down either.

[sisterofyu]

well the Cosmo Conception explains the return of the 12 tribes to the home planets, Aries is the tribe first and is ruled by mars, so it makes sense to return. KEEKEE

[Lucky]

family in Chad of 6 members spends 1,23 dolars per week
13 member family in Butan spends 5 $ per week on food
... in west world its much more... but yet...
if those produced 2 children instead of 11 ELEVEN!! maybe they wouldnt be as hungry.

it would be much more productive to buy them condoms instead of food.

[2112]

I want colonisation of space, and I want it now!

[GNRreunioneventually]

i think at the moment NASA should say to hell with mars for now, then focus on the moon. The last i heard there was a gas called Hydrogen 3 that could meet Earths fuel needs for a 1000 years or so (give or take).

but i also heard that they weren't playing on going back there till 2020 and that since the discovery of a posible Hydrogen 3 mine on the moon its more or less a race to the moon to get it and have controll. so why doesn't NASA and ESA try to beet every other country after it so that either the USA and UKs ESA have controll of it?

if China gets it all then every one is screwed because they don't like to share

[Grouse]

i think at the moment NASA should say to hell with mars for now, then focus on the moon. The last i heard there was a gas called Hydrogen 3 that could meet Earths fuel needs for a 1000 years or so (give or take).

but i also heard that they weren't playing on going back there till 2020 and that since the discovery of a posible Hydrogen 3 mine on the moon its more or less a race to the moon to get it and have controll. so why doesn't NASA and ESA try to beet every other country after it so that either the USA and UKs ESA have controll of it?

if China gets it all then every one is screwed because they don't like to share

You don't need to go to the moon to find hydrogen 3 (or Tritium), you can find it right here on earth just step inside a nuclear reactor and you'll find plenty of it.?

[Axlfreek]

i'd like to be the first human to stick his dick in this "hole" 

[WhiteRose]

i'd like to be the first human to stick his dick in this "hole"?

The Andromeda Strain?

[fuckin crazy]

Caves of Mars Project, funded by the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts.

When I received my education (granted a long time ago) , I was taught that caves form in carbonates by dissolution of limestone by carbonic acid . Everthing else was known as tubes .

[GNRreunioneventually]

i think at the moment NASA should say to hell with mars for now, then focus on the moon. The last i heard there was a gas called Hydrogen 3 that could meet Earths fuel needs for a 1000 years or so (give or take).

but i also heard that they weren't playing on going back there till 2020 and that since the discovery of a posible Hydrogen 3 mine on the moon its more or less a race to the moon to get it and have controll. so why doesn't NASA and ESA try to beet every other country after it so that either the USA and UKs ESA have controll of it?

if China gets it all then every one is screwed because they don't like to share

You don't need to go to the moon to find hydrogen 3 (or Tritium), you can find it right here on earth just step inside a nuclear reactor and you'll find plenty of it.

yeah but i was to believe that Hydrogen 3 (or Tritium) could only come from decomposing Nuclear grade Uranium

[Axlfreek]

i'd like to be the first human to stick his dick in this "hole"?

The Andromeda Strain?

nice one