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Mars' mysterious pit may aid in planet exploration


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Mars' mysterious pit may aid in planet exploration

Recently, there has been curiosity about a mystery pit on Mars due to its potential insights into the planet's interior. This is what that implies.

On August 15, 2022, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took a picture of a small pit on the Martian surface. The orbiter was about 159 miles (256 kilometers) above Mars when the image was captured. It's not only one hole in the earth, either. In the Tharsis area of Mars, it is one of several visible from the flanks of three huge volcanoes.

This unique pit, which resembles a vertical shaft, is located on a lava flow on the dormant volcano Arsia Mons. That makes me wonder: Is it really just a small pit, or does it lead to a much larger, amazing cavern? Alternatively, is it possible that a very deep lava tube that was created underground during the volcano's previous active phase? 

Mars's caves and pits are interesting for a number of reasons. Mars may be a potential place for humans to live due to its thin atmosphere and lack of a global magnetic field. This makes it more exposed to space radiation compared to Earth. As a result, radiation exposure on the Martian surface is often 40–50 times higher than that on Earth. 

These pits might have been sheltered homes for Martian life in the past, and maybe even now, if microbial life exists there. This could interest astrobiologists. This is in addition to the fact that they might serve as a haven for human astronauts.

Holes on the sides of volcanoes are a strong sign that they are linked to volcanic activity on Mars. Lava can flow through underground channels away from a volcano; the channel empties when the volcano goes extinct. That leaves an extended subterranean tube in its wake. These tubes are visible not just on Mars but also on Earth and the Moon. 

 


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