Jake Matijevic (rock) consistent with feldspar, such as sodium, aluminum and potassium, and lower concentrations of magnesium, iron and nickel than other such rocks previously found on Mars. The mineral content and elemental abundance indicates "Jake M" rock may be a mugearite, a sodium rich oligoclase-bearing basaltic trachyandesite. Igneous rocks similar to the "Jake M" rock are well known but occur rarely on Earth. On Earth, such rocks form when magma, usually found in volcanoes, rises to the surface, cools and partially solidifies with certain chemical elements, while the warmer liquid magma portion becomes enriched with the left-behind elements. By remarkable coincidence, the
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