1. Lakewood High School Mars Student Imaging Project MSIP

2. Introduction Big Picture Question How does Mars’ natural resources such as liquid water for breathing air and drinking, and caves for shelter, affect the future of human exploration/ life on Mars? North Ice cap Cave

3. Introduction Observations Our class has been observing Mars’ Themis images and we have chosen to focus on caves and possible ice water. With our research, we concluded that caves can also provide us a space to protect from conditions and find resources.

4. Introduction Research Question & Hypothesis Research Question: Can we find a place on Mars that includes caves and water and use these natural resources to our advantage to live/find life on the Red Planet? Hypothesis: If we utilize Mars’ natural resources such as water for breathable air and drinking, as well as caves for shielding, then we can positively affect the future of human exploration/life on Mars.

5. Background Information ●Caves are found near volcanoes in collapsed lava tubes ●Searching for water and life ●Possible bacteria found on Mars’ water that did not evolve like it would on Earth ●There is ice near the equator ●Possible cave skylights- windows into underground spaces ●Harsh conditions on the surface of Mars ●Cold, thin atmosphere means liquid water can currently not exist on Mars ●Possible underground aquifers that could support microbial organism

6. Methods Criteria Caves In the process of identifying caves on Mars we used the following steps: ❖ First, we will use the “nomenclature” tool to find “Mons” because most caves on Mars are created because of collapsed lava tubes which are mostly found on/around volcanoes on Mars. ❖ Next, to locate caves in more detail we used Themis stamps to put the image into more detail to locate caves. ❖ Finally, we had to decide whether a feature is a cave or just a normal crater. ❖ Caves, lava tubes, overhangs, etc. would be potentially useful for manned missions.

7. Data Methods Collection Plan HEND Epithermal layer- Displays the amount of hydrogen in the soil. Useful for finding water ice. MOLA layer- Displays Mars in detail. Shows shadows. Shows elevation. Themis Stamps- Rendering images of Mars to locate caves.

8. Methods Criteria Water Ice Today, water ice may be present under the Martian surface: ❖ In order to find possible places with water ice, we used the “HEND Epithermal” tool to locate spots where there is hydrogen under the ground. In HEND, blue colors mean there are high hydrogen levels because of low reflectance. ❖ After this, we had to record the places where there is a high level of hydrogen which may indicate water ice.

9. Methods Control These are steps we took to ensure that we’re all collecting the data we want the same way. For caves we used: Use Themis stamps Render images on JMARS to find caves Climate: Used the measuring tool to find the distance to the equator. A rating scale was then used to indicate closeness to the equator is preferred (rating of 2) and far away is understood to be considerably colder (rating of 0).

10. Caves on Mars 1 2 3 4 5 6

11. 0 no ice -red or orange 1 moderate ice amount- yellow or green 2 high ice amount- blue or purple Cave NumbersCavesDistance from equator Ice (rating of 0-2) Cave 1Lat:19.97 Lon:164.39 2 km: 21 moderate Amount of ice Cave 2Lat:0.22 Lon:359.02 15 km: 22 High amount of ice Cave 3Lat:-7.82 Lon:241.72 548 km: 01 moderate amount of ice Cave 4Lat:21.440926, Lon:237.02554 262 km: 01 moderate amount of ice Cave 5Lat:0 Lon:262 0km: 21 moderate amount of ice Cave 6Lat:29.48 Lon:22.18 35 km: 11 moderate amount of ice 2 25-0 km of equator 1 26-50 km 0 50+ km

12. Cave Graph

13. Conclusion If we utilize Mars’ natural resources such as water for breathable air and drinking, as well as caves for shielding then we can positively affect the future of human exploration and life on Mars. First, we located 6 cave locations to research. After this, we found out how far from the equator each one was and how much liquid ice is near that location. The higher accumulative rating of temperature and water ice is the most ideal place for humans to live because the higher the temperature and the more water ice found will benefit humans the most. Out of 6 caves, cave number two had a rating of 2 from the equator which means it was 25-0 kilometers away from the equator, and a 2 for ice which means there is a high amount of ice (blue or purple in HEND colors), and was a total of 4. During this experiment, a possible error could be mistaking a crater or dark spot for being a cave. Also the hydrogen that we found could be something other than water ice. Perhaps the next question is to research the suitable cave to block radiation for not all caves are not alike, and some may be better than others. Throughout this experiment we tried to find caves that humans could eventually inhabit, until we find a more sustainable place of living on Mars.

14. References Charles Q. “ Mars facts: Life, water and robots on the red planet” November 4, 2014 space.com March 21, 2016. Joseph Castro. “What would it be like to live on Mars?”. February 17, 2015. Space.com March 21, 2016. Redd Taylor. “Water on mars.” October 7, 2015. Exploration & Evidence March 23, 2016.