(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)
Andy Weir’s bestselling story “The Martian” predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We are now 10 Years past the
The 2015 release of is 10 years behind the fictional timeline. Mars exploration is a little different at this midpoint than it was in “The Martian,” due to both more discoveries and controversy.
The earliest evidence of the existence of Mars is a
I am aplanetary scientist working with NASA to study Mars. I follow the science and policy of exploration closely. In 2010, the
The National Space Policy of the United States sets goals for human missions on Mars in 2030. But in 2017, the
White House Space Policy Directive 1 shifted NASA’s attention toward
Returning first to the Moon (19659010) under what would become a
Artemis program.
However
Theand concepts for crewed Mars missions have gained popularity.
NASA’s plans to land humans on Mars are still fragile. Over the past 10 years, robotic missions, not crewed ones, have been the ones that have propelled human discovery and imagination forward.
Robotic discoveries
Satellites and rovers, which have been operating since 2015, have changed the way scientists view Mars. They have revealed countless new insights into the climate changes over time.
As Earth???s neighbor, climate changes on Mars reflectSolar System process affecting Earth when life first took hold. Thus, Mars has become a focal point for investigating the age-old questions of “where do we come from?” and “are we alone?“
The Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have driven dozens of miles studying layered rock formations that serve as a record of Mars’ past. Planetary geologists have uncovered a story of environmental change on Mars that dwarfs the current state of Earth.
Mars used to be a world with erupting volcanic eruptions, glaciers and lakes, and flowing rivers, a similar environment to early Earth. Then, its core cooled down, its magnetic field weakened and its atmosphere drifted off. The exposed surface of the planet has preserved signs of these processes in the form landscape patterns, sequences and layers of sediments and mineral mixtures.
Related to: NASA’s rover finds a ‘Skull,’ out of place on Mars. Scientists are baffled.
(Image credit: Photo taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (19659023)
Arabia Terra
A focus of scientific research over the past 10 years is relevant to the setting “The Martian” yet fails to be mentioned in the story. Matt Damon’s character Mark Watney must traverse a vast and dusty region of Mars called Arabia Terra to reach his best chances of survival.
Arabia Terra.
In
2022
I, along with my colleagues at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), published detailed analyses of the layers materials using imagery from the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and
Mars Odyssey satellites .
Using infrared images and measuring the dimensions on the surface features, we were able to link multiple layers of deposits to the same episodes and learn more about the crumbling nature of terrain. This loose material is indicative of a dry climate around 3.5 billions years ago.
In order to make the discussion about this area easier we even worked with scientists.
International Astronomical Union ( ) to name a couple of previously unnamed, but mentioned craters. One crater that Watney drove right past is now named
Kozova Crater (19659034]is named after a Ukrainian town.
There’s still more to discover
Despite rapid advancements in Mars science there are still many unknowns. Scientists aren’t certain of the exact ages, atmospheric conditions, and possible signs of life associated with the different rock types on the surface.
The Perseverance Rover recently
analysed and drilled into a unique collection of rocks that contained organic compounds, i.e. carbon-based compounds. Organic compounds are the building blocks of all life. However, a more detailed analysis will be required to determine if these specific rocks were once home to microbial life.
In-development
TheMars Sample Return mission aims to answer these fundamental questions by delivering to Earth the first ever unaltered fragments from another world. The Perseverance Rover is already
Caching rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, including those containing organic compounds. The caches will need to be picked up and launched by a future lander.
Back to Earth
Once back on Earth, researchers can examine the materials with instruments orders-of-magnitude more sensitive than those that could be flown in a spacecraft. Scientists will learn more about the habitability of the planet.
The sample return campaign is a better way to determine the geologic history of Mars and the presence of any signs that life exists on Mars than sending humans up to the surface.
This is the perspective that has led NASA, the European Space Agency, and others to invest some US$30 billion into robotic Mars exploration since 1960. The payoff is staggering: This work has triggered a series of events.
Rapid technological advances are being made in robotics, materials science, and telecommunications. Mars mission technology, for example, has led to improved
Sutures for heart surgery (19659046)
Cars that can drive themselves
The car has also
reinforced the status [of NASA and the U.S.]as bastions of
Modern exploration and technology; and it has
inspired millions of students to take an active interest in science.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
What is it like to call the red planet “home”?
Colonizing Mars ( ) has a seductive charm. It’s impossible not to cheer the indomitable spirit of humanity as Watney fights dust storms, oxygen scarcity and food shortages over 140 million miles away from rescue.
The momentum for colonizing Mars has been largely tied to SpaceX.
CEO Elon Musk, whose stated mission to make humanity a “multi-planetary species” has become a sort of rallying cry. While Mars colonization sounds romantic, it is a very difficult project to implement.
questioned the viability of a Mars habitation for a refuge away from Earth.
With the advent of
With NASA facing a possible 50% reduction in its science budget, it is possible that the U.S. will completely eliminate its planetary science, robotic operations, and sample return portfolio.
Nonetheless,
President Donald Trump, Musk, and others have pushed for human space exploration to continue, despite these proposed cuts, effectively putting aside the robotic, scientific-driven programs which have been the foundation of all Mars exploration up to this point.
Yet it is these programs which have given humanity the richest insights into Mars and given both storytellers and scientists like Andy Weir a foundation to imagine what standing on Mars’ surface must be like. This edited article was republished from The Conversation ( ) under a Creative Commons License. Read the
Original article
Ari Koeppel, a planetary science and Earth Sciences Postdoctoral scientist at Dartmouth College, studies surface environments on Earth using data from satellites and rovers. He has worked on NASA missions such as the Curiosity rover and the Perseverance rovers. He has also conducted fieldwork in Hawaii and Iceland. Recently, he traveled to the Arctic to study the thawing of permafrost. Koeppel is passionate about education and outreach. He has taught science classes, led wilderness expeditions, and developed student enrichment programmes.
