Spelunking on Mars

By Dr. Klaus L.E. Kaiser —— Bio and Archives August 30, 2021

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Well, the term "spelunking" may not be quite right here, so let me correct it to "surviving." Presumably you know already about the great drive to have mankind settle on planet Mars. (Supposedly, as some folks claim, planet Earth will become inhabitable, sometime, in the very distant future (many thousands or even millions of years from now). While that prediction may come true, I've yet to see any such futuristic "scenario" for Mars or other heavenly bodies that are on the "hot-list" wanting to move away from Earth.

Getting there

Getting there, i.e. to Mars is already fraught with immense difficulties. For example, would you like to be in a tiny rocket for a 60-day one-way excursion? I have my doubts.  Even if you survive that grueling "cruise", don't expect a great welcome reception either upon arrival. Instead of "flower-bearing" Marslings, you'll likely find a hostile blast of sand and no breathable air.  But don't despair, the latest scientific intelligence points to a way out of the misery: It's Martian caves.

Martian Caves

That's the stuff inter-galactic voyagers are dreaming of: caves to live in. After all, even Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon folks lived in such, several tens-of-thousand years ago. Entrance of a Martian cavern; source: NASA [scale not given]. 

Caves protected from High-energy sun-and other space-radiation

Perhaps the Martian caverns are more hospitable than those I've been visiting in past decades on different continents on Earth. Most were not exactly warm and cozy, and next to impossible to visit without plenty of artificial (electrical) lighting, paved and secured pathways and other amenities.  I doubt that the caves on Mars are equipped with any of such.  So, while hunkering down in a cool and pitch-dark cave there, you'll be happy to learn that you are protected from high-energy sun-and other space-radiation.   Surely, that must be very reassuring about your prospects for survival. Better have a good supply of vitamin-D pills handy if you intend to stay underground for long. They could even help to fend off Martian COVID germs; who knows? But the real Martian challenge is yet different

Lack of Oxygen, and too much CO2

The atmosphere on Mars, while significantly less dense than the one on Earth, is comprised mostly (like 96%) of carbon dioxide (CO2), and has next to no water and oxygen. So breathing there (as we know it on Earth) will be impossible. At 960,000 ppm (parts per million) CO2 in the Martian air, exhaling the typical human exhaled-air of 40,000 ppm CO2 and getting a lung full of air with 21% oxygen instead will not be possible either.   Those facts alone are going to doom you on the spot, even if you had a special oxygen supply. The vapor pressure of CO2 on Mars would make it impossible to expel that from your lungs into the Martian atmosphere. In fact, the opposite would occur and kill you most rapidly.  If that isn't enough concern for your long-envisaged vacation on Mars, there's just another little wrinkle: 

Lack of Water

While there may be (or not) a "lake of frozen water" in a deep crater near one of the poles on Mars, it may be somewhat onerous to access and use it.  No surface water, liquid or frozen has ever been noted to exist on Mars.  To boot, there are no cruise liners either. Perhaps you might rethink your holiday plans for a vacation on Mars for a while.