Start Date
1-8-2014 12:00 AM
End Date
19-5-2014 10:00 AM
Abstract
Potential mechanisms for creating cavities in icy extraterrestrial bodies have been tentatively explored by several authors. On one hand we have examples of mechanisms that create caves in water ice here on Earth. In addition, there may be unique mechanisms on other Solar System objects that do not occur on Earth but might produce cavities, e.g. sublimation of comets upon perihelion passage. The methods of detecting such cavities depend upon the nature of the icy body in question, the potential for orbital or landed missions to visit those bodies in the future, and remote or landed methods for detecting the presence of cavities and ways of interrogating them. Robotics, muon imaging, ground penetrating radar, and other techniques may be necessary in addition to high-resolution multispectral imaging. What are the prospects and what may we expect over the course of the next few decades from planetary exploration as it relates to extraterrestrial caves in ice?
Included in
Biogeochemistry Commons, Environmental Chemistry Commons, Geochemistry Commons, Microbiology Commons, Paleobiology Commons, The Sun and the Solar System Commons
Ice Caves On Extraterrestrial Bodies: What Are The Prospects For Speleogenesis And Detection?
Potential mechanisms for creating cavities in icy extraterrestrial bodies have been tentatively explored by several authors. On one hand we have examples of mechanisms that create caves in water ice here on Earth. In addition, there may be unique mechanisms on other Solar System objects that do not occur on Earth but might produce cavities, e.g. sublimation of comets upon perihelion passage. The methods of detecting such cavities depend upon the nature of the icy body in question, the potential for orbital or landed missions to visit those bodies in the future, and remote or landed methods for detecting the presence of cavities and ways of interrogating them. Robotics, muon imaging, ground penetrating radar, and other techniques may be necessary in addition to high-resolution multispectral imaging. What are the prospects and what may we expect over the course of the next few decades from planetary exploration as it relates to extraterrestrial caves in ice?
Comments
The abstract do not contain any infos about the work done by the author, but seen to be a kind of review of future investigation techniques for Mars (ice) caves.
Personally I do not have any comments about that.
Valter Maggi