Arsia Mons

Arsia Mons is an extinct shield volcano in the Tharsis region near the equator. It is part of the Tharsis Montes group of volcanos. Its location is 8.35 S and 120.09 W (239.91 E) in the Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle. Its name is a classical feature name and comes from a corresponding albedo feature on a map by Giovanni Schiaparelli, which he named in turn after the legendary Roman forest of Arsia Silva.

THEMIS day image of Arsia Mons (color insert indicates location)

Two views of Arsia Mons

Caves

Seven cave entrances have been discovered on the sides of Arsia Mons. These caves could contain reserves of water ice or even life. They are possible locations for a cave settlement. With the low gravity of Mars, lava tubes may be over 800 feet in width. A lave tube on Mars could protect colonists from meteorites and radiation. Because of the lack of a magnetic field at present, mars has a fair amount of radiation, especially from cosmic ray sources. A mini-series produced by National Geographic in 2016 depicted how people could establish a base in a cave.

Possible cave entrances These openings have been named (A) "Dena," (B) "Chloe," (C) "Wendy," (D) "Annie," (E) "Abby" (left) and "Nikki," and (F) "Jeanne."

Possible cave entrance to pit

References:

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