Martian lava tube would also reduce the landed payload mass for manned missions which would be economically advantageous. Martian lava tube Martian lava tubes are natural sub-surface lava tube caverns on Mars that are believed to form as a result of fast-moving, basaltic lava flows associated with shield volcanism. Lava tubes usually form when the external surface of the lava channels cools more quickly and forms a hardened crust over subsurface lava flows. The flow eventually ceases and drains out of the tube, leaving a conduit-shaped void space which is usually several meters below the surface. Lava tubes are typically associated with extremely
Ice-marginal lava flow its subglacial beginnings. Currently the volcano is surrounded on all sides, except the south, by glaciers. What does Hoodoo mountain have to do with ice-marginal lava flows? Well, the entirety of the mountain is also surrounded by enormous lava cliffs, ranging from 50m-200m in height, as seen in Figure 3. The clearest example of these lava cliffs is seen on the southwestern side of the mountain whereas the northern formation of these cliffs has been overridden by recent lava flows and glacial erosion. Scientists are able to diagnose these lava cliff formations as a result of ice-marginal lava flows because