Researchers discover caves on Mars and what that could tell us about possible ancient life on the planet

Mars might not be as airless and exposed as it looks. A new study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reports the first strong evidence for water carved caves on the Red Planet, hidden beneath the surface in a region called Hebrus Valles.

Water carved caverns under the Red Planet

Using data from multiple Mars orbiters, Ravi Sharma and colleagues examined eight dark pits, or skylights, that look like collapsed holes in the ground. The rocks around them are rich in carbonates and sulfates, minerals that on Earth are easily dissolved by flowing water to create so called karst caves. The area is also laced with ancient channels and sinkholes, all signs that liquid water once moved through the ground here.

Safe rooms for microbes and future astronauts

If these really are caves, they would have been natural bunkers against harsh surface conditions like radiation, deep cold and dust storms. That makes them promising places to search for chemical traces of past microbial life that would be destroyed on the open surface.

Scientists also see a practical bonus. Caves could offer ready made shelter for future human crews, with more stable temperatures and potential access to buried ice. The lead researchers argue Hebrus Valles is unlikely to be the only place with such features, just one of the first we have learned how to spot from orbit.

We still have no proof that life ever existed on Mars, but missions that can peer into or even enter these caverns just moved higher up the wish list.

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