Astronauts exploring Mars must be careful not to leave behind too heavy a footprint, experts emphasize.
Indeed, human exploration of the Red Planet poses risks to the collection of potential evidence life on Mars, say scientists. Here finally Soilsimilar sites of scientific interest have suffered significant damage.
“We risk the same for Mars without legal or normative frameworks to protect such sites,” suggests a new research paper calling for ‘geoconservation’ principles applied to room – a term called ‘exogeoconservation’.
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Budding field
At present, exogeoconservation is an emerging field, one that is disorganized and practically ineffective. Furthermore, there is urgency to develop international agreements and accepted standards on exogeoconservation in the study of Mars, given the growth of government missions to the Red Planet, including robotic sample collection, and as private Mars missions take off.
Think of future human excursions to Mars, as well as projected colonization and talk of possibly terraforming the Red Planet, transforming it into Earth-like conditions.
This nascent new phase in Mars exploration carries potentially devastating consequences for its paleoenvironment and geology. Current policies and laws governing human activity in space, including Mars, are extremely limited in terms of conservation, the new study points out.
Geo-heritage value
The research paper, titled ‘Exogeoconservation of Mars’, and a series of recommendations were written by Clare Fletcher of the Australian Center for Astrobiology in Sydney, together with center colleagues Carol Oliver and Martin Van Kranendonk, who is also at the School of Earth and Planetary Science at Curtin University in Perth, Australia.
The thrust of the article, they note, is to ensure that sites of geological interest on Mars do not suffer the same damage as many other sites on Earth. Areas of the Red Planet could be practically preserved, while science and research could still continue, they say.
“Geoconservation allows humanity to protect Earth’s story and geological history,” the researchers note, “so that current and future generations can experience Earth’s aesthetic beauty, conduct scientific research, connect with diverse cultures, and the functioning of Earth’s biology and ecosystems. and learn more about the history of our planet.”
Geoconservation, the research team emphasizes, “does not exclude continued human activities in an area, but aims to achieve a balance between human activities and the preservation of the geoheritage value of an area.”
Impactful activities
In terms of Mars: understanding the geological, climatic and potential nature of the planet astrobiological The history, the research group argues, “raises questions about the protection of important geoheritage sites that provide insight into understanding the history of Mars and the possibility of life elsewhere in the world.” solar system.”
Existing and yet-to-be-defined key sites on Mars that are of universal geoheritage value, the researchers advise, will require ‘urgent protection’ as the nature of Mars exploration evolves to become more sample-oriented – such as is now being collected by NASA Perseverance robber – leading to “increasingly impactful activities” due to human sojourns on the Red Planet.
Geovandalism
The article highlights two case studies here on Earth, involving the Komati River Gorge in South Africa and the Pilbara Early Life Sites in Australia. They are an example of significant damage to geological sites of exceptional universal geoheritage value.
“Both sites provide insights into Earth’s geological evolution and are of astrobiological significance, meaning they are analogous to sites of astrobiological and paleoecological importance on Mars,” Fletcher and colleagues explain.
That said, the Komati River Gorge suffered from ‘geovandalism’, while the Pilbara Early Life Sites underwent extensive sampling shortly after its discovery. It no longer contains any evidence of ancient life and the site was not considered worth preserving.
Special regions
Expert teams have already identified “special regions” on Mars, places where terrestrial organisms could survive and thrive on the Red Planet.
“Conserving sites of scientific value is incredibly important, bearing in mind that conservation does not mean ‘fencing off’; sites, but rather applying sufficient protection to allow continued study and ensure that current and future researchers can understand a site and learn from its scientific value[s] stored in a location,” Fletcher told Inside Outer Space.
“There is no difference in the priority of exogeoconservation between scientific sites and special regions,” Fletcher continued, “but they require different protections, and therefore different studies need to be conducted.”
On the same page?
Fletcher says it’s critical that the entire global space community is on the same page when it comes to exogeoconservation, “as every actor has the ability to change a place forever.”
This applies not only to various nation states, but also to private organizations, consortia, etc.
“This is where traditional legal frameworks also become difficult, especially as ratification of the UN treaties has declined for each successive space treaty, and we are now seeing the introduction of entirely new legal frameworks such as the Artemis chordsFletcher noted.
NASAin coordination with the US Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020. They were urged on by countries and private companies conducting missions and operations around the moonTherefore, a common set of principles for civilian exploration and use of space was deemed necessary.
Precautionary approach
As for Mars, “understanding what standards can be created and co-opted by the global space community provides a way to effect change without the challenges associated with changing legal frameworks and obtaining signatures and/or ratification of such frameworks,” Fletcher added to it.
Fletcher noted that follow-up work will focus on more practical exogeoconservation measures, such as what surveys should be conducted to determine which scientific sites will be preserved – and how.
“A precautionary approach, international cooperation both in legal regimes and standards, interdisciplinary work and understanding the mistakes and successes that have happened on Earth,” the research paper concludes, “will ensure that exogeoconservation on Mars protects important sites without jeopardizing further exploration. and scientific studies.”