<p>The study of caves as natural analogs offers a unique and promising approach to understanding the diverse and extreme environments found throughout the Solar System. Both terrestrial and extraterrestrial caves provide valuable insights into subsurface conditions that may support life, offer shelter and enable resource utilization in the context of space exploration. These environments, protected from surface hazards such as radiation, temperature extremes, and micrometeorite impacts, serve as models for assessing how future missions might establish sustainable habitats on other planetary bodies. Earth’s caves, as isolated ecosystems, have long been studied to better understand life in extreme conditions, microbial survival, and the potential for resource extraction. Similarly, caves on the Moon and Mars present analogous environments that could offer protection and environmental stability for future human missions. By examining caves as proxies for extraterrestrial exploration, we gain insights into the feasibility of long-term human presence, the potential for astrobiological discoveries, strategies to overcome the challenges of space settlement, and cave-specific research methodologies. This paper explores the role of caves in studying the Solar System, their potential as analogs for planetary exploration, and their implications for future space missions and the search for life beyond Earth.</p>