WALNUT CANYON, ARIZONA, AS A TERRESTRIAL ANALOG FOR CLIFF-BASED ASTRONAUT DWELLINGS WITHIN VALLES MARINERIS, MARS

Planetary analogs allow insight into how planetary bodies formed and changed since the beginning of our solar system as well as a providing testing grounds for off-world missions. Walnut Canyon is a twelve-mile-long river-formed canyon near Flagstaff, AZ (https://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm). It has been used as early as the Pleistocene by indigenous people, including the Clovis, as a location for hunting and shelter. Walnut Canyon has not often been used as a planetary analog, being passed up for its much larger neighbor, the Grand Canyon. The cliff dwellings constructed there use the canyon’s natural geology for both storage and protection from the area’s seasonal dust storms, high and low temperatures, and natural threats such as predators or other humans. This kind of environment is analogous to Mars, where seasonal dust storms and severe temperatures are just as prevalent and need to be considered when examining the potential for human exploration. Analysis of mineral compositions was done in JMARS, specifically looking at the TES basalt, carbonate, and plagioclase concentrations of Valles Marineris and various ASTER mineralogies within Walnut Canyon, along with the usage of Google Earth Pro as an above ground visual of both canyons to visualize structural similarities and potential landform hazards. Several chasma within Valles Marineris – Melas, Condor, Ophir, and Coprates – are looked at specifically for areas of accessibility and travers-ability for a rover or astronaut near points of interest. The parameters of such locations are ones that would be applicable for potential location of astronaut habitation or supply storage to allow for respite and/or consecutive missions. It is important to examine the potential habitability, even if only for a location of storage or temporary shelter for human or rover, to continue in expanding to the next phases of special and planetary exploration. This work was undertaken as part of the GeoSPACE field course and mentoring program (NSF award #2023124) run by the University of Florida with the goal to show how field courses can and should be more accessible and inclusive while teaching its students a range of geo-physical, -technical, and -ethical topics. For more information about the program visit (https://sites.google.com/ufl.edu/geospace-field-program).