J. Judson Wynne Michael J. Malaska Ali-akbar Agha-Mohammadi Peter Buhler E. Calvin Alexander Jr. James W. Ashley Armando Azua-Bustos Penelope J. Boston Debra L. Buczkowski Leroy Chiao Glen E. Cushing John DeDecker Pablo de Leon Cansu Demirel-Floyd Jo de Waele Alberto G. Fairen Amos Frumkin Gary L. Harris Heather Jones Laura H. Kerber Erin J. Leonard Richard J. Leveille Kavya Manyapu Matteo Massironi Ana Z. Miller John E. Mylroie Bogdan P. Onac Scott E. Parazynski Cynthia B. Phillips Charity M. Phillips-Lander Thomas H. Prettyman Haley M. Sapers Francesco Sauro Norbert Schorghofer Dirk Schulze-Makuch Jennifer Scully Kyle Uckert Robert V. Wagner William L. Whittaker Kaj E. Williams Uland Y. Wong Timothy N. Titus 2021 <p>While researchers have pondered the possibility of extraterrestrial caves for more than 50 years, we have now entered the incipient phase of planetary caves exploration. Our knowledge of planetary caves varies from body to body. Earth represents the most advanced level of exploration, but many unanswered questions remain. Beyond Earth, identification of possible caves is most advanced for the Moon and Mars , with hundreds of documented candidate cave entrances and several proposed cave mission concepts.&nbsp; To date, the community has catalogued 2,660 SAPs on eight planetary bodies (excluding Earth) across our Solar System. Planetary caves science has the potential to significantly expand over the next decade. A potential roadmap for planetary cave research and exploration is discussed.&nbsp;</p> application/pdf 10.1038/s41550-021-01385-1 en Springer Nature A roadmap for planetary caves science and exploration article