California 7th-Graders Uncover Martian Cave

A 7th-Grade class from California's Evergreen Middle School made an exciting discovery last week - A hitherto unnoticed cave on Mars, that experts believe may be as big as, 620X520ft. wide and 380ft. deep.

The 16 astute students were participating in the Mars Student Imaging Program (MSIP), a collaboration between NASA and the University of Arizona, which allows students ranging from 5th grade through college sophomore, to be involved in authentic Mars research.

Once classrooms are accepted into the program, they can participate in person or remotely, via on-line seminars. They can also pose questions to experts and request close-up pictures of the area of the planet they wish to research.

The Evergreen class project was to investigate the Red Planet's lava tubes (natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of the earth) - A feature Mars has in common with Earth.

While they found plenty in the image they received from MSIP, they also spotted a Martian Skylight - a hole in the roof of a cave - Something that NASA scientists had missed. The students have now requested a closer image of the hole so that they can peek and see what's inside - some Martians maybe?

While the MSIP was set up to educate kids, NASA scientists admit that in this case, the Cottonwood, CA students have outsmarted them - Pretty Awesome!

Sources:huffingtonpost.com, space.com, NASA.gov