The Caves of Mars: Preparing for a Mission to a Lava Tube

Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light Environments (BRAILLE) is a multi-year, NASA-funded Mars analog project centered around fieldwork in volcanic caves at Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California. We are motivated to search for evidence of life on Mars beneath its surface - and one way to gain access there is through a volcanic cave! 

We have identified many such "lava tubes" in images from Mars orbiters, and by visiting similar environments on Earth with the right technology, we hope to quantify the microbial life living there (and find out what it eats), to characterize mineral features that could be signatures of life, and to gain experience using robots to detect life and to map below-ground regions.

These efforts will help NASA prepare for a future life-detection mission to a Martian lava tube! Our project has evolved to include new autonomous and AI technologies that show much promise for developing future missions to Mars - or the Moon!  This presentation will provide an overview of BRAILLE, showcasing its most significant accomplishments and taking audiences inside these remarkable caves.

Speaker: Jennifer Blank, Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

This event was originally scheduled for April 3, 2023.