Scientists Map the Ultimate Mars Mission: Life Detection Must Come First

A Revolutionary Scientific Blueprint

A major scientific report published Tuesday argues that sending astronauts to Mars is justified by the quest to find life and conduct research that robots alone can't achieve , marking a pivotal shift in how humanity approaches Red Planet exploration. The report, two years in the making and encompassing more than 200 pages, was published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and identifies the highest priority science objectives for the first human mission to Mars, and says searching for evidence of existing or past life on Mars should be the top priority .

"When our astronauts set foot on Mars, it will be one of humanity's greatest milestones," says Dava Newman, an aerospace engineer and former director of the MIT Media Lab, who co-chaired the committee behind the report. "And finding extant or extinct life on Mars will be the discovery that defines the next century." The comprehensive strategy emerges as NASA targets human Mars missions for the mid-2030s, representing the most ambitious scientific undertaking in space exploration history.

"We're searching for life on Mars," said Dava Newman, a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-chair of the committee that wrote the report. "The answer to the question 'are we alone' is always going to be 'maybe,' unless it becomes yes."

The Science Roadmap: 11 Critical Objectives

Improving our understanding of the effects of Mars' environment on humans, plants, and animals; water cycles; geologic records; and dust storms are also among the 11 science priorities named in the report . "The detection of life on Mars is a persistent top priority for explorers of many disciplines, and it is the top science objective in this report" according to the 240-page document titled "A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars."

Beyond life detection, the remaining objectives tackle practical challenges astronauts will face. Determine how the Martian environment affects the physical and psychological health of astronaut explorers... Learn about the population dynamics of microbes on Mars, and if microbial species from Earth could adversely affect astronauts' health and performance on the Red Planet . Additional priorities include studying how Martian dust affects equipment and crew, understanding water and carbon dioxide cycles, and testing how Earth organisms might survive in Martian greenhouse environments.

Radiation Sampling — Characterize radiation at key locations in the crew habitat and at astrobiological sampling sites, both to contextualize sample collection and improve our estimates of the risk to future missions represents another crucial objective, addressing one of the most dangerous aspects of Mars exploration for human crews.

Four Mission Campaigns: From Quick Visits to Deep Drilling

The report presents four possible campaigns for human exploration of Mars, each encompassing a sequence of three missions linked to specific science objectives. For each campaign, the report describes which science objectives could be met, the likely roles of crew members, and the campaign's strengths and weaknesses for meeting scientific goals .

The top-ranked campaign, which could achieve every science objective named in the report, would include a human landing lasting 30 sols (Mars days, which are slightly longer than an Earth day), an uncrewed cargo delivery, and a longer 300-sol mission. Each of these landings would occur at a single site in an exploration zone approximately 100 kilometers in diameter, and with specific features such as ancient lava flows and known dust storms .

Two would involve building and operating drilling rigs on Mars, with one campaign proposing to drill as far down as five kilometers to reach subsurface regions where potentially life-bearing liquid water might exist . The lowest-ranked campaign deviates from the others in that it would see astronauts mount a series of shorter surface forays of 30 sols each at three separate sites across the planet .

Breaking Down Barriers for Discovery

Perhaps most significantly, the report addresses a major constraint on Mars exploration: planetary protection guidelines. A concerted search for Mars life will be constrained by current "planetary protection" guidelines, which aim to minimize the chances that our exploration efforts contaminate other worlds with Earth microbes... Therefore, the document states, "NASA should continue to collaborate on the evolution of planetary protection guidelines, with the goal of enabling human explorers to perform research in regions that could possibly support, or even harbor, life" .

NASA should also include a surface laboratory on Mars in its mission plans, return samples to Earth from every human mission to Mars, and start a recurring summit on teaming between humans, robotic exploration tools, and artificial intelligence to support Mars missions . This integration of human expertise with advanced robotics could revolutionize how we explore other worlds.

The timing couldn't be more crucial. As space agencies worldwide accelerate their Mars programs and private companies develop new technologies, this scientific framework provides the foundation for humanity's greatest adventure. The question isn't just whether we'll find life on Mars, but whether we're prepared to conduct that search with the scientific rigor it demands. The answer to "are we alone" may finally be within reach.