A rocket is being assembled. A deep-space crew vehicle is being prepared. Habitats for deep space are being developed. Where are we headed? To Mars!
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Robotic exploration of the red planet is an important part of the Journey to Mars. NASA’s next rover is set to launch in 2020 and will allow us to study the availability of resources on the red planet.
Image Credit: NASA
Whether it’s a robotic or human mission going to Mars, where will you land?
Lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, Michael Meyer, talked about how the agency picks landing sites at a talk earlier this month in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The broader science community plays an essential role in NASA’s landing site decisions.
With the agency’s next Mars rover launching in a few years, workshops for the rover’s landing site are being held. In February of the upcoming year, NASA will be holding the third landing site workshop for the Mars 2020 rover. Check it out at NASA.gov.
There are currently eight remaining landing sites and the main goal of this next workshop will be reducing them to three or four. During the previous landing site workshop, a combined total of 200 individuals in person and online discussed ideas and posed questions.
Based on the objectives of the mission and the areas that might support the its science, the broader science community begins its search for landing sites.
What kind of things are scientists and engineers looking for in the rover’s landing site? In what places can scientists make the most discoveries about possible life on the red planet? What places will give engineers the best chance of safely landing and moving the rover?
Scientists are after a site with evidence of water for the Mars 2020 rover, perhaps one near an ancient shoreline and one where life possibly could have thrived. The rover will also be able to store samples for later return to Earth, which adds additional possibilities for landing sites. Learn more about the Mars 2020 rover here.
Workshops are also being conducted for landing sites of future human missions to the red planet’s surface. For this kind of mission, potential sites or exploration zones will be required to have compelling science research prospects and resources that astronauts can utilize.
The original workshop about landing sites for a human mission came up with 47 locations and had more than 400 people supporting the event. The diverse group is essential for choosing an ideal location for humanity’s initial base on Mars. More workshops will be held to decrease this number in the future. Learn more here.
Mars-orbiting spacecraft are currently being used to determine optimal landing sites. They will be used to help decrease the number of candidate landing sites in the future.
With NASA and the greater science community actively involved in finding the best landing sites for future missions to the red planet, we continue to move forward on the exciting Journey to Mars!
Learn more about the Journey to Mars at NASA.gov.