1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren vocal bamb here. Ever, since Neil Armstrong first 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: set foot on the Moon, scientists have been toyed with 4 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: the idea of forming potential colonies there and more recently 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: on Mars too. But extreme fluctuating temperatures, cosmic radiation and 6 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 1: micro meteorite showers colloquially known as space dust pose challenges 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: to human excavation of both the Moon and Mars. However, 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: astrobiologists are in the process of exploring nifty geological structures 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: that could serve as natural shelter from these harsh elements. 10 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 1: Lava tubes. So what are lava tubes? We spoke via 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: email with Dr Ricardo Pozibon of the Department of Geosciences 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: at the University of Padova. He's been at the forefront 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: of European research on lava tubes. He explained. Lava tubes 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: are caves that are carved by flowing lava that's eventually 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: drained out, leaving a subsurface void. Although there are different 16 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: types of lava tube formations, these caves often form out 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: of a type of fluid basaltic lava that flows down 18 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: a slope like the side of a volcano. As the 19 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: outermost portion of the hot lava flow comes in contact 20 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 1: with the cold air, it cools rapidly, forming a hardened crust, 21 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: but liquid lava continues to flow like water in a 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: channel underneath this newly hardened surface. At some point that 23 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: liquid lava runs out and cools underneath the surface, forming 24 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: a curvy tube shaped structure, and thus a lava tube 25 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: is born. Geologists no lava tubes from volcanic areas in 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: Hawaii or Iceland, but they've also become a hot commodity 27 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: within the astrobiology community due to high resolution images indicating 28 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:39,640 Speaker 1: that lava tubes may exist on the Moon and Mars 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: as well. Many sites thought to be lava tubes are 30 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: detected by the presence of these curvy channels, and more recently, 31 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: the Setty Institute announced the discovery of possible skylights or 32 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,559 Speaker 1: lava tube openings in a crater near the north pole 33 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: of the Moon, using images obtained from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter. 34 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 1: But lava tubes are a tricky business. Scientific technology is 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: still playing catchup and identifying these underground habitats. We also 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: spoke by email with Leonardo Career of the Remote Sensing 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,639 Speaker 1: Laboratory at the University of Trento. He said the main 38 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: difficulty comes from the fact that lava tubes are essentially 39 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: subsurface structures. Very few instruments are capable of performing direct 40 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: measurements of underground structures. The Careers team is working to 41 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: modernize the technology and thus aid future human settlement of 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: these lunar caves. The technology involves using radar which can 43 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: detect lava tubes from orbit based on their unique electromagnetic signatures. Basically, 44 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: they can probe below the surface of the Moon using 45 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: low frequency electromagnetic waves and then measure the reflected waves 46 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: that come back to them. Those reflections offer insight into 47 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,839 Speaker 1: a lava tube's characteristics, like its shape, size, and composition. 48 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: But one thing is clear, lava tubes on the Moon 49 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: and Mars are invaluable as natural potential habitats, or at 50 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: the very least could serve as convenient storage units between 51 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: space missions. Meanwhile, back on Earth, scientists are preparing for 52 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: future missions to the Moon and Mars through a little 53 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: cave diving. The European Space Agency developed a program called 54 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: Pangaea that prepares European astronauts to explore other planets. One 55 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: of its projects concerns a lava tube in Spain called 56 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: Corona that's eight kilometers long or about five miles. The 57 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: team has undertaken advanced mapping of the tube to create 58 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: a three D model that's accurate down to the millimeter. 59 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: They've also been testing out new robots or rovers to 60 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: identify how best to navigate these tubes, developing a greater 61 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: understanding of the challenges associated with incursions into lava tubes 62 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: on other planets in the process. Other researchers have also 63 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: taken an interest in exploring the microbiology of lava tubes 64 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: by focusing their efforts on the Lava Beds National Monument 65 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: in California. This project, funded by the Canadian Space Agency, 66 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: is looking to explore lava tubes as habitats of micro organisms, 67 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: which may leave traces behind through certain minerals and thus 68 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: indicate the presence of life once upon a time, which 69 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: is cool enough on Earth, but would be an amazing 70 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: find on the Moon or Mars. So what's the difference 71 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 1: between lava tubes on Earth and their lunar and Martian counterparts? Well, gravity, 72 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: for one, The lower gravity on the Moon and Mars 73 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: seems to impact the size of lava tubes significantly. Tubes 74 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: on Mars can stretch for two hundred and fifty in 75 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: width or about eight hundred twenty feet, and tubes on 76 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: the Moon can reach a whopping kilometer or more across 77 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: that's about two thirds of a mile. The lower gravity 78 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: also stabilizes the roofs of these tubes and causes fewer collapses, 79 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: especially on the Moon, thereby creating a potentially safer dwelling 80 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: for human habitation. But otherwise, lava tubes on Earth are 81 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: fairly similar in composition and structure to those on the 82 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: Moon and Mars, and serves excellent reference points for researchers. 83 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: The potential for lunar caves and possible human settlements has 84 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: many people excited, even the White Houses making a bid 85 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,799 Speaker 1: for Moon colonies in the near future, and the possibility 86 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: of answering whether life has existed or may still flourish 87 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: in caves on Mars is a tantalizing one for space explorers. 88 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: But if you're wondering whether or not Martians will be 89 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: found hey ing around these lava tubes on the Red planet, 90 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: the answer is likely no, unless you count microbial critters. Radiation, 91 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: a dry environment, and fridge and temperatures make the planet 92 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: inhospitable to most forms of life. While using ground rovers 93 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: to access lava tubes on the Moon and Mars could 94 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: be difficult due to surface conditions, other devices are being 95 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: developed to aid these explorations, including climbing and hopping pit 96 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: bots and flying helicopter like vehicles, likes of which may 97 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: appear in NASA's Mars rover mission. Today's episode was written 98 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: by Terra yr Lagata and produced by Tyler Clang. Rain 99 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. 100 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other totally tubular topics, 101 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And 102 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,799 Speaker 1: for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 103 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 104 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: favorite shows.