Lava Tube Possible Human Habitats on Mars

The environment on Mars is a lot more hostile for human beings on the surface of the planet than it would be under it. Lava tubes formed by volcanic activity have been found on Earth in places such as as Hawaii, Iceland, Sicily, Galapagos Islands, and North Queensland in Australia. All of these places have had volcanic activity that have left behind cool underground tubes that can go up to 65 km.

Scientists propose that using lava tubes on the planet Mars may be a better place to serve as a human habitat than constructing one on the surface. The underground network would provide protection from the extreme atmospheric elements as well as the sun’s radiation. Some tubes may be large enough to establish small townships given that they are nearly 250 m in width and can stretch for many kilometers.

The high resolution digital terrain models created from the data gathered through space craft instrumentation suggests that making Lava Tube Human Habitats on Mars may be possible.  They would have enough space for streets and even smaller housing structures within. The well shielded townships may be where future human missions are carried out. This is one science project that could quite literally shape humanity’s future on Mars.