Latest news with #SpacePolicyDirective1
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'The Martian' predicts human colonies on Mars by 2035. How close are we?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Andy Weir's bestselling story "The Martian" predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We are now 10 years past the Hollywood adaptation's 2015 release and 10 years shy of its fictional timeline. At this midpoint, Mars exploration looks a bit different than how it was portrayed in "The Martian," with both more discoveries and more controversy. As a planetary geologist who works with NASA missions to study Mars, I follow exploration science and policy closely. In 2010, the U.S. National Space Policy set goals for human missions to Mars in the 2030s. But in 2017, the White House Space Policy Directive 1 shifted NASA's focus toward returning first to the Moon under what would become the Artemis program. Although concepts for crewed missions to Mars have gained popularity, NASA's actual plans for landing humans on Mars remain fragile. Notably, over the last 10 years, it has been robotic, rather than crewed, missions that have propelled discovery and the human imagination forward. Since 2015, satellites and rovers have reshaped scientists' understanding of Mars. They have revealed countless insights into how its climate has changed over time. As Earth's neighbor, climate shifts on Mars also reflect solar system processes affecting Earth at a time when life was first taking hold. Thus, Mars has become a focal point for investigating the age-old questions of "where do we come from?" and "are we alone?" The Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have driven dozens of miles studying layered rock formations that serve as a record of Mars' past. By studying sedimentary layers — rock formations stacked like layers of a cake — planetary geologists have pieced together a vivid tale of environmental change that dwarfs what Earth is currently experiencing. Mars was once a world of erupting volcanoes, glaciers, lakes and flowing rivers — an environment not unlike early Earth. Then its core cooled, its magnetic field faltered and its atmosphere drifted away. The planet's exposed surface has retained signs of those processes ever since in the form of landscape patterns, sequences of layered sediment and mineral mixtures. Related: NASA rover discovers out-of-place 'Skull' on Mars, and scientists are baffled One focus of scientific investigation over the last 10 years is particularly relevant to the setting of "The Martian" but fails to receive mention in the story. To reach his best chance of survival, protagonist Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, must cross a vast, dusty and crater-pocked region of Mars known as Arabia Terra. In 2022 and 2023, I, along with colleagues at Northern Arizona University and Johns Hopkins University, published detailed analyses of the layered materials there using imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey satellites. By using infrared imagery and measuring the dimensions of surface features, we linked multiple layered deposits to the same episodes of formation and learned more about the widespread crumbling nature of the terrain seen there today. Because water tends to cement rock tightly together, that loose material indicates that around 3.5 billion years ago, that area had a drying climate. To make the discussions about this area easier, we even worked with the International Astronomical Union to name a few previously unnamed craters that were mentioned in the story. For example, one that Watney would have driven right by is now named Kozova Crater, after a town in Ukraine. Despite rapid advances in Mars science, many unknowns remain. Scientists still aren't sure of the precise ages, atmospheric conditions and possible signatures of life associated with each of the different rock types observed on the surface. For instance, the Perseverance rover recently drilled into and analyzed a unique set of rocks hosting organic — that is, carbon-based — compounds. Organic compounds serve as the building blocks of life, but more detailed analysis is required to determine whether these specific rocks once hosted microbial life. The in-development Mars Sample Return mission aims to address these basic outstanding questions by delivering the first-ever unaltered fragments of another world to Earth. The Perseverance rover is already caching rock and soil samples, including ones hosting organic compounds, in sealed tubes. A future lander will then need to pick up and launch the caches back to Earth. Once home, researchers can examine these materials with instruments orders of magnitude more sensitive than anything that could be flown on a spacecraft. Scientists stand to learn far more about the habitability, geologic history and presence of any signs of life on Mars through the sample return campaign than by sending humans to the surface. This perspective is why NASA, the European Space Agency and others have invested some US$30 billion in robotic Mars exploration since the 1960s. The payoff has been staggering: That work has triggered rapid technological advances in robotics, telecommunications and materials science. For example, Mars mission technology has led to better sutures for heart surgery and cars that can drive themselves. It has also bolstered the status of NASA and the U.S. as bastions of modern exploration and technology; and it has inspired millions of students to take an interest in scientific fields. Colonizing Mars has a seductive appeal. It's hard not to cheer for the indomitable human spirit while watching Watney battle dust storms, oxygen shortages and food scarcity over 140 million miles from rescue. Much of the momentum toward colonizing Mars is now tied to SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk, whose stated mission to make humanity a "multi-planetary species" has become a sort of rallying cry. But while Mars colonization is romantic on paper, it is extremely difficult to actually carry out, and many critics have questioned the viability of a Mars habitation as a refuge far from Earth. RELATED STORIES —NASA Mars satellite uncovers markings 'like paint dripping down a wall' on Martian surface —Scientists find hint of hidden liquid water ocean deep below Mars' surface —Lights on Mars! NASA rover photographs visible auroras on Red Planet for the first time Now, with NASA potentially facing a nearly 50% reduction to its science budget, the U.S. risks dissolving its planetary science and robotic operations portfolio altogether, including sample return. Nonetheless, President Donald Trump and Musk have pushed for human space exploration to somehow continue to progress, despite those proposed cuts — effectively sidelining the robotic, science-driven programs that have underpinned all of Mars exploration to date. Yet, it is these programs that have yielded humanity's richest insights into the red planet and given both scientists and storytellers like Andy Weir the foundation to imagine what it must be like to stand on Mars' surface at all. This edited article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A decade after the release of ‘The Martian' and a decade out from the world it envisions, a planetary scientist checks in on real-life Mars exploration
Andy Weir's bestselling story 'The Martian' predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth flight systems and collaborated with the China National Space Administration. We are now 10 years past the Hollywood adaptation's 2015 release and 10 years shy of its fictional timeline. At this midpoint, Mars exploration looks a bit different than how it was portrayed in 'The Martian,' with both more discoveries and more controversy. As a planetary geologist who works with NASA missions to study Mars, I follow exploration science and policy closely. In 2010, the U.S. National Space Policy set goals for human missions to Mars in the 2030s. But in 2017, the White House Space Policy Directive 1 shifted NASA's focus toward returning first to the Moon under what would become the Artemis program. Although concepts for crewed missions to Mars have gained popularity, NASA's actual plans for landing humans on Mars remain fragile. Notably, over the last 10 years, it has been robotic, rather than crewed, missions that have propelled discovery and the human imagination forward. Since 2015, satellites and rovers have reshaped scientists' understanding of Mars. They have revealed countless insights into how its climate has changed over time. As Earth's neighbor, climate shifts on Mars also reflect solar system processes affecting Earth at a time when life was first taking hold. Thus, Mars has become a focal point for investigating the age old questions of 'where do we come from?' and 'are we alone?' The Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have driven dozens of miles studying layered rock formations that serve as a record of Mars' past. By studying sedimentary layers – rock formations stacked like layers of a cake – planetary geologists have pieced together a vivid tale of environmental change that dwarfs what Earth is currently experiencing. Mars was once a world of erupting volcanoes, glaciers, lakes and flowing rivers – an environment not unlike early Earth. Then its core cooled, its magnetic field faltered and its atmosphere drifted away. The planet's exposed surface has retained signs of those processes ever since in the form of landscape patterns, sequences of layered sediment and mineral mixtures. One focus of scientific investigation over the last 10 years is particularly relevant to the setting of 'The Martian' but fails to receive mention in the story. To reach his best chance of survival, protagonist Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, must cross a vast, dusty and crater-pocked region of Mars known as Arabia Terra. In 2022 and 2023, I, along with colleagues at Northern Arizona University and Johns Hopkins University, published detailed analyses of the layered materials there using imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey satellites. By using infrared imagery and measuring the dimensions of surface features, we linked multiple layered deposits to the same episodes of formation and learned more about the widespread crumbling nature of the terrain seen there today. Because water tends to cement rock tightly together, that loose material indicates that around 3.5 billion years ago, that area had a drying climate. To make the discussions about this area easier, we even worked with the International Astronomical Union to name a few previously unnamed craters that were mentioned in the story. For example, one that Watney would have driven right by is now named Kozova Crater, after a town in Ukraine. Despite rapid advances in Mars science, many unknowns remain. Scientists still aren't sure of the precise ages, atmospheric conditions and possible signatures of life associated with each of the different rock types observed on the surface. For instance, the Perseverance rover recently drilled into and analyzed a unique set of rocks hosting organic – that is, carbon-based – compounds. Organic compounds serve as the building blocks of life, but more detailed analysis is required to determine whether these specific rocks once hosted microbial life. The in-development Mars Sample Return mission aims to address these basic outstanding questions by delivering the first-ever unaltered fragments of another world to Earth. The Perseverance rover is already caching rock and soil samples, including ones hosting organic compounds, in sealed tubes. A future lander will then need to pick up and launch the caches back to Earth. Once home, researchers can examine these materials with instruments orders of magnitude more sensitive than anything that could be flown on a spacecraft. Scientists stand to learn far more about the habitability, geologic history and presence of any signs of life on Mars through the sample return campaign than by sending humans to the surface. This perspective is why NASA, the European Space Agency and others have invested some US$30 billion in robotic Mars exploration since the 1960s. The payoff has been staggering: That work has triggered rapid technological advances in robotics, telecommunications and materials science. For example, Mars mission technology has led to better sutures for heart surgery and cars that can drive themselves. It has also bolstered the status of NASA and the U.S. as bastions of modern exploration and technology; and it has inspired millions of students to take an interest in scientific fields. Colonizing Mars has a seductive appeal. It's hard not to cheer for the indomitable human spirit while watching Watney battle dust storms, oxygen shortages and food scarcity over 140 million miles from rescue. Much of the momentum toward colonizing Mars is now tied to SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk, whose stated mission to make humanity a 'multi-planetary species' has become a sort of rallying cry. But while Mars colonization is romantic on paper, it is extremely difficult to actually carry out, and many critics have questioned the viability of a Mars habitation as a refuge far from Earth. Now, with NASA potentially facing a nearly 50% reduction to its science budget, the U.S. risks dissolving its planetary science and robotic operations portfolio altogether, including sample return. Nonetheless, President Donald Trump and Musk have pushed for human space exploration to somehow continue to progress, despite those proposed cuts – effectively sidelining the robotic, science-driven programs that have underpinned all of Mars exploration to date. Yet, it is these programs that have yielded humanity's richest insights into the red planet and given both scientists and storytellers like Andy Weir the foundation to imagine what it must be like to stand on Mars' surface at all. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ari Koeppel, Dartmouth College Read more: Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the red planet's geologic mysteries Could people turn Mars into another Earth? Here's what it would take to transform its barren landscape into a life-friendly world Ari Koeppel receives funding from NASA.
New York Times
06-03-2025
- Science
- New York Times
Why NASA Is Trying to Go Back to the Moon
NASA is aiming to send astronauts back to the moon, because that is what President Trump set as the destination of the agency's human spaceflight program during his first term. On Dec. 11, 2017, Mr. Trump signed what the White House called Space Policy Directive 1, which stated that 'the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.' The people attending Mr. Trump's signing of the directive included Buzz Aldrin, the second person to step on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission after Neil Armstrong, and Harrison Schmitt, an astronaut on Apollo 17, the last time people were on the moon. Three reasons are often offered for NASA to send astronauts back to the moon: For a couple of decades after the Apollo moon landings, not many people paid much attention to the moon. The moon was a 'been there, done that' place, a lifeless, airless world of rocks and dust and not much else. Scientists and NASA looked to explore Mars and other planets. The discovery of frozen water in the craters rekindled interest in the moon. Moon water could simplify astronaut missions going there. Humans need to drink water to survive, and water molecules can be split into hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen provides air to breathe, and hydrogen and oxygen can also be used as rocket propellants to return home to Earth, or to travel elsewhere in the solar system. Layers of ice in the craters could also provide a history of the solar system, much as ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica provide a record of Earth's climate. Spacecraft like Athena, the Intuitive Machines mission whose fate was uncertain after a moon landing attempt on Thursday, aim to advance those goals. The rapid rise of China's space program has also set the stage for a new space race. At the Commercial Space Conference in Washington in February, Bruce Babin, a Texas congressman who is chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, raised the specter of 'No trespassing' signs on the moon written in Chinese. 'My top priority is ensuring that U.S. astronauts return to the lunar surface and that we do so before the C.C.P.,' Mr. Babin said, using the initials for Chinese Communist Party. Whether Mr. Trump still wants to go to the moon is less certain. During his campaign, his inaugural address in January and his address to Congress this week, Mr. Trump has mentioned planting a U.S. flag on Mars. He almost never talks about the moon anymore. Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX and a key adviser to Mr. Trump, says the moon is a distraction, even though SpaceX has a multibillion-dollar NASA contract to build the landers that are to take astronauts to the moon's surface as part of the Artemis program.
