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A SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING APPROACH FOR PLANETARY LAVA TUBES EXPLORATION
Abstract
Lava tubes are natural underground structures formed by volcanoes during magmatic eruption events. Their exploration has aroused undeniable interest in the scientific community because of their potential as future habitats capable of hosting human missions in the Solar System. Indeed, there are significant topographic features that indicate the existence of lava tubes on the Moon and Mars, offering natural shelter and environmental insulation for permanent planetary settlements. The article summarizes the geological process of lava tube formation based on an extensive review of the literature and introduces the relevance of geomechanical prospecting to interpret the surface stability for habitability, introducing the results obtained during the visit to The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) base and the region of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii in 2021. The collected data would allow an estimate of the surface properties of these geological formations outside of Earth. In addition, different methodologies currently used in the mining and civil construction industries are discussed that can be transferred as spin-in technologies to complement the characterization of these formations on Earth. In fact, these underground structures are analog environments where it is possible to test different procedures and instruments and develop future space payloads to support the human exploration of the Moon and Mars, with potential terrestrial applications.
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