Certainly a startling, very plausible, eyeball-pinning proposal. Wow! As a long-retired marine geophysicist I am well aware of the interconnected tunnels in pillow lava extruded from submarine volcanic vents. The big question is how to investigate these on Mars. I can't see a machine like a drill doing it. The human eyeball and brain, with some rock-breaking equipment, would surely be necessary to identify the most likely site.
That's a great question. I wonder if a non-invasive technique could be used on a lander to probe inside rock formations without actually drilling into them. I would THINK (and I could be wrong) that would allow a lander to explore a lot more locations where such features might be found.
Be sure to listen to my podcast April 28, when I interview Dr. Steven D’Hondt, geomicrobiologist from the University of Rhode Island, about this very subject!
Certainly a startling, very plausible, eyeball-pinning proposal. Wow! As a long-retired marine geophysicist I am well aware of the interconnected tunnels in pillow lava extruded from submarine volcanic vents. The big question is how to investigate these on Mars. I can't see a machine like a drill doing it. The human eyeball and brain, with some rock-breaking equipment, would surely be necessary to identify the most likely site.
That's a great question. I wonder if a non-invasive technique could be used on a lander to probe inside rock formations without actually drilling into them. I would THINK (and I could be wrong) that would allow a lander to explore a lot more locations where such features might be found.
Be sure to listen to my podcast April 28, when I interview Dr. Steven D’Hondt, geomicrobiologist from the University of Rhode Island, about this very subject!