The interior of Lava River Cave, shown here, has intact wall linings that showcase the basalt interior of the lava tubes. While a “flat floor” may be rare inside lava tubes, both on Earth and Mars, and Martian lava tubes are likely much larger, the interior features should otherwise look much the same. (DAVE BUNNELL / THE VIRTUAL CAVE)

Yes, The First Humans On Mars Should Consider Becoming Cave-Dwellers

If you think life on Earth is hard, wait until you see Mars.

If you think life on Earth is hard, try living on Mars.

Mars, as photographed from the surface (L) and from space (R). The Martian surface has many unattractive features for humans, including frequent dust storms, large amounts of radiation, enormous temperature swings, and frequent micrometeorite impacts. (NASA/JPL-CALTECH/CORNELL/ASU (L); NASA (R))

With at atmosphere only 0.7% as thick as Earth’s, pure, liquid water is impossible on the Martian surface.

Seasonal frozen lakes appear throughout Mars, showing evidence of (not liquid) surface water. These are just a few of the many lines of evidence that point to a watery past on Mars, but that support the idea that pure liquid water, without any impurities in it, cannot persist on the Martian surface due to the low atmospheric pressure. (ESA/DLR/FU BERLIN (G. NEUKUM))

With no active magnetic field, cosmic and solar radiation would be lethal to unshielded surface-dwelling humans.

Mars, the red planet, has no magnetic field to protect it from the solar wind, meaning that it loses its atmosphere in a way that Earth doesn’t. Additionally, solar and cosmic radiation makes it to the Martian surface whereas Earth’s field deflects it away, posing a deadly, cancerous risk to any Martian surface-dwellers. (NASA / GSFC)

Additionally, temperatures swing by some 170 °F (93 °C) from day-to-night, presenting severe habitability challenges.

During Martian summers, dust storms frequently occur, which can effectively blot out the Sun for weeks at a time to an observer on the Martian surface. If you don’t want to get pieces of Mars’s regiolith everywhere, you’ll need some way to shelter yourself and your equipment from these frequent events. Mars can be seen before (L) and after (R) a dust storm. (NASA/JPL/MALIN SPACE SCIENCE SYSTEMS, FROM MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR)