Life on Mars? Research explores possibility of life beyond Earth; check out What and Where
Do caverns on Mars harbour life?
Although that's a valid question, it isn't the appropriate one right now.
According to an international group of experts led by Jut Wynne, a researcher at NAU, we need to ask and answer dozens of questions. We can come back to that question after learning how to analyse caves on the Moon, Mars, and other planetary worlds.
The lead author of two related studies, both of which were included in a special collection of publications on planetary caves by the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, is Wynne, an assistant research professor of cave ecology. An interdisciplinary team of 31 scientists, engineers, and astronauts completed the first study, "Fundamental Science and Engineering Questions in Planetary Cave Research," and from a list of 198 questions they narrowed it down to the 53 most crucial ones with the help of 82 other scientists and engineers with expertise in space and caves.
This work is the first to highlight the scientific and technical goals to further the study of planetary caves, drawing on the expertise of a sizeable segment of the space science community.
The team expects that their research will help determine what will ultimately be required to enable robotic and human expeditions to planetary caves, including those that take place on the Moon and/or Mars.
The first study served as the basis for the second, "Planetary Caves: A Solar System View of Products and Processes." Wynne discovered that there had been no attempt to compile a list of all the planets' caves, which is an essential component of the whole picture. For that task, he gathered yet another group of planetary specialists.
"With the necessary financial investment and institutional support, the research and
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