NASA plans to send humans on a scientific round trip to Mars potentially as early as 2035. The trip will take about six to seven months each way and will cover up to . The astronauts may spend as many as 500 days on the planet’s surface before returning to Earth.
Author
Joel S. Levine
Research Professor, Department of Applied Science, William & Mary
NASA’s plans to return humans to the Moon this decade to practice and prepare for a Mars mission as early as the 2030s. While NASA has several reasons for pursuing such an ambitious mission, the biggest is scientific exploration and discovery.
I’m involved in establishing the scientific questions a Mars mission would investigate. There are lots of mysteries to investigate on the red planet, including why Mars looks the way it does today, and whether it has ever hosted life, past or present.
Mars geology
Mars is from a geological and atmospheric perspective. It formed with the rest of the solar system . Around 3.8 billion years ago, the , early Mars was very Earth-like. It had on its surface in the form of oceans, lakes and rivers and possessed a denser atmosphere.
While Mars’ surface is totally devoid of liquid water today, scientists have spotted evidence of those past lakes, rivers and even an ocean coastline on its surface. Its north and south poles are covered in frozen water, with a thin veneer of frozen carbon dioxide. At the south pole during the summer, the carbon dioxide veneer disappears, leaving the frozen water exposed.
Today, Mars’ atmosphere is very thin and . It’s from the surface, which gives the atmosphere of Mars its characteristic reddish color.
Scientists know quite a bit about the planet’s surface from sending robotic missions, but there are still many interesting geologic features to investigate more closely. These features could tell researchers more about the solar system’s formation.
The northern and southern hemispheres of Mars look very different. About one-third of the surface of Mars – mostly in its northern hemisphere – is 2 to 4 miles (3.2-6.4 kilometers) lower in elevation, called the . The northern lowlands have a few large craters but are relatively smooth. The southern two-thirds of the planet, called , has lots of .
Mars also has the in the solar system. Its surface is peppered with from asteroid and meteor impacts that occurred during the early history of Mars. Sending astronauts to study these features can help researchers understand how and when major events happened during the early history of Mars.
Asking the right questions
NASA formed a panel called the Human Exploration of Mars Science Analysis Group to plan the future mission. I co-chaired the panel, with NASA scientist James B. Garvin, to develop and assess the . We wanted to figure out which research questions required a human mission to address, rather than cheaper robotic missions.
The panel came up with recommendations for several important scientific questions for human investigation on Mars.
One question asks whether there’s life on the planet today. Remember, life on Earth formed about 3.8 billion years ago, when Earth and Mars were similar-looking planets that both had abundant liquid water and Mars had a denser atmosphere.
Another question asks what sort of environmental changes led Mars to lose the widespread, plentiful liquid water on its surface, as well as some of its atmosphere.
These questions, alongside other recommendations from the panel, made it into .
How do you get to Mars?
To send people to Mars and return them safely to Earth, NASA has developed a new, very powerful launch vehicle called the and a new .
To prepare and train astronauts for living on and exploring Mars, NASA , called the .
In mythology, . The Artemis astronauts will live and work on the Moon for months at a time to prepare for living and working on Mars.
successfully launched on Nov. 16, 2022, as part of the Artemis I mission. It made the Artemis program’s first uncrewed flight to the Moon, and once there, Orion orbited the Moon for six days, getting as close as 80 miles (129 kilometers) above the surface.
Artemis I splashed back down to Earth on Dec. 11, 2022, after its 1.4 million-mile (2.2 million-kilometer) maiden journey.
, the first mission to return humans to the lunar surface, is . The Artemis astronauts will land at the Moon’s south pole, where scientists believe there may be in the form of ice that astronauts could mine, melt, purify and drink. The Artemis astronauts will set up habitats on the surface of the Moon and spend several months exploring the lunar surface.
Since the Moon is a , it will act as a training ground for the future human exploration of Mars. While a Mars mission is still many years out, the Artemis program will help NASA develop the capabilities it needs to explore the red planet.
