A team of astronauts, engineers and geologists is traveling to Spain's Canary Islands, one of Europe's volcanic hot spots, to learn how to best explore the Moon and Mars during ESA's Pangaea geological training course.
This edition's participants are ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, ESA engineer Robin Eccleston and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, who is part of the group of NASA astronauts selected to potentially land on the Moon for the Artemis missions, where research on lunar geology will be crucial.
Volcanism is not exclusive to Earth. Our Moon had extensive volcanic activity until less than two billion years ago. Mars is currently a cold, dry desert, but in the past most of the planet's surface was shaped by water and volcanoes in a very Earth-like fashion. The Red Planet has the largest known volcano in our planetary neighborhood—the 22 km high Mount Olympus.
The basaltic lava flows in Lanzarote Island, located to the far east of the Canary Islands, resemble vast plains on the lunar maria and volcanoes are similar to those in some regions of Mars. This will help Pangaea's participants to prepare for the future expeditions to Mars and the Moon.
Pangaea—named after the ancient supercontinent—prepares the astronauts for expeditions to other planets. Trainees acquire skills and knowledge both in the field and in the classroom tailored towards the needs of future planetary explorers.
Participants analyze the chemistry and mineralogy of the soil, choose their own exploration routes and rely on technology in constant communication with the science and training teams.
"We instruct astronauts on reading and describing landscapes and running efficient sampling taking into account the environment around them, such as dust and volcanic rocks," says Francesco Sauro, Pangaea's technical course director. "From selecting a landing site to describing samples with the right scientific vocabulary, this is the basic geological education they will need in future field trips for lunar missions," adds the geologist.
