Emily Chan
In addition, the radiation exposure on Mars is an average of 40 to 50 times greater than on Earth.
The pits are also of interest because they might have been places of shelter for Martian life in the past. Maybe life still exists there today. The full depth of the pits is a mystery, though.
Do the pits open up into a large cavern? Or are they just small depressions?
Some images of Martian pits have been taken when the sun is high enough to shed light on the sides of the pit’s walls.
The images show what looks like shafts going straight down into the flank of the volcano, indicating that they are unlikely to open into larger caves.
On the moon, the bottom of some pits are strewn with boulders, which gives the impression that they could lead to larger subterranean refuges.
Another explanation for the pits is that they might open up into spaces where underground rivers used to flow billions of years ago.
Perhaps future missions to Mars can clear up all this speculation and provide concrete answers.
