How important is it to preserve human artifacts on Mars, specifically the myriads of rovers and landers that have helped us better understand the Red Planet? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how humanity should take steps towards developing an archaeological record of human artifacts on the surface of Mars, known as planetary geoarchaeology, so future generations can know the first steps we took toward exploring the Red Planet. This study holds the potential to help scientists, engineers, and future Mars astronauts and settlers maintain a historical archive of our early exploration of Mars, much like we do here on Earth.
“These are the first material records of our presence, and that's important to us,” said Dr. Justin Holcomb, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kansas and lead author of the study. “I've seen a lot of scientists referring to this material as space trash, galactic litter. Our argument is that it's not trash; it's actually really important. It's critical to shift that narrative towards heritage because the solution to trash is removal, but the solution to heritage is preservation. There's a big difference.”
For the discussion-based study, the researchers argued that future missions should caution against landing near locations with active or “retired” Mars landers or rovers, including their tracks, with the goal of preserving their authenticity for future generations. This study comes as Dr. Holcomb led a research team that previously discussed archaeological preservation of human artifacts on the Moon for future missions, making this a topic he is very passionate about. For this latest paper, Dr. Holcomb’s team argued that the degradation of human artifacts on Mars is poorly understood compared to how artifacts degrade on Earth. Therefore, the team encourages developing a database for identifying and cataloging human artifacts on Mars and other worlds to increase their chances of preservation.
Map depicting past and current missions on Mars that could be consdiered for preservation, incluidng (B) Viking-1 lander; (C) NASA’s Perseverance rover wheel tracks; (D) Dacron netting used in thermal blankets for NASA’s perseverance rover; (E) China’s Tianwen-1 lander and Zhurong rover; (F) ExoMars Schiaparelli Lander crash site; (G) Illustration of the Soviet Mars Program’s Mars 3 space probe; (H) NASA’s Phoenix lander. (Credit: Justin Holcomb)
“If this material is heritage, we can create databases that track where it’s preserved, all the way down to a broken wheel on a rover or a helicopter blade, which represents the first helicopter on another planet,” said Dr. Holcomb. “These artifacts are very much like hand axes in East Africa or Clovis points in America. They represent the first presence, and from an archaeological perspective, they are key points in our historical timeline of migration.”
One major process that could degrade human artifacts on Mars is the immense amount of dust that blows across the surface, including massive global dust storms that could bury these artifacts, making them difficult to identify for future generations. This study comes as Mars has several active NASA rovers exploring its surface, along with artifacts from the former Soviet Union and China also sitting on the Martian surface, having long since ending their respective missions. Therefore, developing a preservation plan so future generations can learn about these first explorers could help keep their history alive.
How will an archaeological record be established on Mars in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: Nature Astronomy, EurekAlert!, Labroots
