An Unusual Hole in Mars
What created this unusual hole in Mars?
Actually, there are numerous holes pictured in this
Swiss cheese-like landscape,
with all-but-one of them showing a dusty, dark, Martian terrain beneath
evaporating, light, carbon dioxide ice.
The most unusual hole is on the upper right,
spans about 100 meters, and seems to punch through to a lower level.
Why this hole exists and why it is surrounded by a circular crater remains a topic of
speculation, although a leading hypothesis is that it was created by a meteor impact.
Holes such as
this are of particular interest because they might be portals to lower levels that extend into expansive
underground caves.
If so, these naturally occurring tunnels are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to
contain Martian life.
These pits are therefore also prime targets for
possible future spacecraft, robots, and even
human interplanetary explorers.