Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Mars Astrobiological Cave and Internal habitability Explorer (MACIE): A New Frontiers mission concept

April 1, 2021

Martian subsurface habitability and astrobiology can be evaluated via a lava tube cave, without drilling. MACIE addresses two key goals of the Decadal Survey (2013–2022) and three MEPAG goals. New advances in robotic architectures, autonomous navigation, target sample selection, and analysis will enable MACIE to explore the Martian subsurface.

Publication Year 2021
Title Mars Astrobiological Cave and Internal habitability Explorer (MACIE): A New Frontiers mission concept
DOI 10.3847/25c2cfeb.cf124da3
Authors C. M. Phillips-Lander, A. Agha-mohamamdi, J. J. Wynne, Timothy N. Titus, N. Chanover, C. Demirel-Floyd, Kyle Uckert, Kaj E. Williams, D Wyrick, J. Blank, Penelope J. Boston, K. Mitchell, A Kereszturi, J. Martin-Torres, S. Shkolyar, N. Bardabelias, S. Datta, K. Retherford, Lydia Sam, A. Bahardwaj, A. Fairén, D. Flannery, Roger C. Wiens
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype Federal Government Series
Series Title Bulletin of the AAS
Index ID 70214557
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Astrogeology Science Center