An Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars (2007) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
8 Findings and Recommendations
8 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 99-108
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From page 99... ...
Image from the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft courtesy of NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems.
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From page 100... ...
A Broad Approach to the Search for Life on Mars Addressing astrobiology science goals requires a broad approach to understanding Mars. It involves not just searching for present and past life, but also understanding the geological and environmental context that determines planetary habitability.
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From page 101... ...
1–5 A Mars sample-return mission has thus been an essential component of the Mars exploration strategies advocated by the National Research Council for 30 years.6–11 Even from the narrower perspective of the search for life on Mars, "evidence" for martian life observed only in situ would create controversy, not conviction. That is, the discovery of past or present life on Mars would be of such importance that it is highly unlikely that the scientific community would be convinced by anything less than the power of laboratory analysis.
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From page 102... ...
Sites that NASA should target with highest priority to advance astrobiology science objectives are those places where liquid water might exist today or might have existed in the past and where organic carbon might be present or might have been preserved. Site Selection Although the committee anticipates that new measurements are likely to include major discoveries relevant to astrobiology that will point researchers to specific sites, a foundation of data is already available to identify exciting and appropriate sites for either in situ analysis or sample return.
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From page 103... ...
Recommendation. Future surface missions must have the capability to visit most of the martian surface, including Noachian terrains and polar and high-latitude areas, and to access the subsurface.
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From page 104... ...
The vitality of Mars astrobiology science goals and investigations has not diminished with the delays in a Mars sample-return mission or the initiation of other activities. The ongoing missions (e.g., Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Exploration Rovers, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)
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From page 105... ...
The astrobiology science goals for Mars are extremely broad. They legitimately include determining the volatile inventory of the planet upon formation and the evolution of volatiles through time, the geological and geophysical evolution of the planet, the interplay between the geology and the atmosphere and the history of habitability, and, of course, the determination of whether there is life today or has been life at some time in the past.
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From page 106... ...
that will explore the chemistry and the biological potential of the surface in detail. With this information in hand, and following that approach, analysis of samples returned from Mars to Earth will yield the greatest increase in our understanding of Mars and thus support for addressing astrobiology science goals as well as science goals related to other aspects of Mars.
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From page 107... ...
5. National Research Council, Assessment of Mars Science and Mission Priorities, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2001, pp.
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From page 108... ...
Douglas McCuistion, the director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, informed the NRC's Committee to Assess Solar System Exploration that cost estimates for a Mars sample-return mission run the gamut from $3 billion to $10 billion, with $5 billion being most likely. Also see, National Research Council, Assessment of NASA's Mars Architecture 200-201, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006, p.
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