Earth analogs in astrobiology: Lanzarote, Mars and the Moon

• Main Authors: Martínez-Frías, J., Miller, A. Z., Mateo-Mederos, Elena
• Other Authors: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Lunar and Planetary Institute 2023
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/357507; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033; https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004837

Resumen de la comunicación oral presentada en 4th International Planetary Caves Conference scheduled for May 4–7, 2023, at the Haría Municipality in Lanzarote, Spain. So far, we do not know of a place on Earth which is truly like Mars or any other planet of moon in our solar system. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify terrestrial analogue sites, where environmental conditions approximate, in some specific ways, those possibly encountered on other celestial bodies, at present or earlier in their geological history [1]. These sites are also privileged areas to define scientific models and testing new instrumentation, paving the way for understanding lunar and planetary processes and habitability and paleohabitability conditions. There are many relevant sites on earth which have confirmed to be extremely useful for these purposes (e.g. Antarctica, Atacama (Chile), Pilbara (Australia), Iceland, and, also, Spain, due to its internationally recognized geodiversity (e.g. Río Tinto, Jaroso, Calatrava Volcanic Field and Canary Islands, among others). The Canary Archipelago (Spain) is one of the main and most geodiverse and interesting chain of oceanic islands worldwide, displaying a long history of eruptions (the two last ones, in 2011 and 2021, at El Hierro and La Palma islands, respectively), and a huge variety of volcanic and plutonic rocks. The islands are dominated by basaltic rocks, but show a great petrologic and geochemical diversity including melilitites, nephelinites, basanites, tholeiitic and alkali basalts, tephrites, rhyodacites, rhyolites, pantellerites, comendites, trachytes, phonolites and carbonatites [2]. Several areas of the Canary archipelago have been (and still are) used as analogue sites for performing scientific and engineering studies, in relation with the exploration and research of Mars and the Moon. They include: a. geological and astrobiological studies of volcanic rocks, rock-fluid interactions and mineralization processes; b. operational and instrumentation activities, such as field ...