Author: Carol R. StokerPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 652
Book Description
Strategies for Mars
Author: Carol R. StokerPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 652
Book Description
An Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars
Author: National Research CouncilPublisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309179416
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
Three recent developments have greatly increased interest in the search for life on Mars. The first is new information about the Martian environment including evidence of a watery past and the possibility of atmospheric methane. The second is the possibility of microbial viability on Mars. Finally, the Vision for Space Exploration initiative included an explicit directive to search for the evidence of life on Mars. These scientific and political developments led NASA to request the NRC's assistance in formulating an up-to-date integrated astrobiology strategy for Mars exploration. Among other topics, this report presents a review of current knowledge about possible life on Mars; an astrobiological assessment of current Mars missions; a review of Mars-mission planetary protection; and findings and recommendations. The report notes that the greatest increase in understanding of Mars will come from the collection and return to Earth of a well-chosen suite of Martian surface materials.
Strategies for Mars Exploration
Author: Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars
Author: National Research CouncilPublisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030909724X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 166
Book Description
Recent spacecraft and robotic probes to Mars have yielded data that are changing our understanding significantly about the possibility of existing or past life on that planet. Coupled with advances in biology and life-detection techniques, these developments place increasing importance on the need to protect Mars from contamination by Earth-borne organisms. To help with this effort, NASA requested that the NRC examine existing planetary protection measures for Mars and recommend changes and further research to improve such measures. This report discusses policies, requirements, and techniques to protect Mars from organisms originating on Earth that could interfere with scientific investigations. It provides recommendations on cleanliness and biological burden levels of Mars-bound spacecraft, methods to reach those levels, and research to reduce uncertainties in preventing forward contamination of Mars.
An Exobiological Strategy for Mars Exploration
Author: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781722181727
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 62
Book Description
The idea of searching for evidence of life on Mars may strike some as far-fetched, even fanciful. But there is a compelling logic to such a quest, as well as an equally compelling excitement. Early environments were apparently sufficiently similar on Mars and Earth, and life arose so rapidly on Earth once conditions became clement, that emergence of life on both planets at that time is scarcely less plausible than emergence on only one. Furthermore, although a fossil on Mars might seem at first like a proverbial needle in a haystack, experience on Earth tell us that if we know where to look, finding evidence of ancient life is not particularly difficult, especially when one considers that such evidence can be relatively widely disseminated in the form of chemical or isotopic signatures. The key is to recognize that the search for ancient life on Mars will involve a logically designed sequence of missions, each of which will focus on defining ever more closely where and how biosignatures may be found. Although one can never rule out a chance discovery, this quest should not be approached as one that will yield to a single, expeditious mission. (In fact, the proposed strategy lends itself particularly well to the use of a series of relatively small, inexpensive spacecraft, rather than a single flagship-class mission). The search for life on Mars will take time and commitment, but the reward could be a discovery of inestimable importance, not just to science, but to humanity as a whole. Unspecified Center...
From Habitability to Life on Mars
Author: Nathalie A. CabrolPublisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128099364
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
From Habitability to Life on Mars explores the current state of knowledge and questions on the past habitability of Mars and the role that rapid environmental changes may have played in the ability of prebiotic chemistry to transition to life. It investigates the role that such changes may have played in the preservation of biosignatures in the geological record and what this means for exploration strategies. Throughout the book, the authors show how the investigation of terrestrial analogs to early Martian habitats under various climates and environmental extremes provide critical clues to understand where, what and how to search for biosignatures on Mars. The authors present an introduction to the newest developments and state-of-the-art remote and in situ detection strategies and technologies that are being currently developed to support the upcoming ExoMars and Mars 2020 missions. They show how the current orbital and ground exploration is guiding the selection for future landing sites. Finally, the book concludes by discussing the critical question of the implications and ethics of finding life on Mars. Edited by the lead on a NASA project that searches for habitability and life on Mars leading to the Mars 2020 mission Presents the evidence, questions and answers we have today (including a summary of the current state of knowledge in advance of the ESA ExoMars and NASA Mars 2020 missions) Includes contributions from authors directly involved in past, current and upcoming Mars missions Provides key information as to how Mars rovers, such as ExoMars and Mars 2020, will address the search for life on Mars with their instrumentation
Mars: Our New Home? - National Plan to Conquer the Red Planet (Official Strategies of NASA & U.S. Congress)
Author: National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationPublisher: e-artnow
ISBN: 8026876083
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 107
Book Description
President Donald Trump signed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Transition Authorization Act of 2017, the first comprehensive NASA authorization act passed in seven years by Congress, authorizing $19.5 billion in funding for deep space exploration and human travel to Mars by 2030. NASA will lead our nation and our world on a journey to Mars. Like the Apollo Program, they will embark on this journey for all humanity. Mars is the horizon goal for pioneering space; it is the next tangible frontier for expanding human presence. Mars have found valuable resources for sustaining human pioneers, such as water ice just below the surface. Mars had conditions suitable for life, but will it our new home?" Table of Contents: Basic Facts About Mars Journey to Mars - Introduction Journey to Mars - Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration: Our Goal Our Approach: Pioneering Principles Three Phases on Our Journey to Mars Our Strategy for the Journey to Mars Our Progress and Plans on the Journey to Mars Pioneering Challenges Government's Authorization of the Plan - An Act to Authorize the Programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and for Other Purposes
Strategies for Mars
Author: Carol R. StokerWhy Mars
Author: W. Henry LambrightPublisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421412802
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 334
Book Description
Traces NASA’s torturous journey to Mars from the fly-bys of the 1960s to landing rovers and seeking life today. Mars has captured the human imagination for decades. Since NASA’s establishment in 1958, the space agency has looked to Mars as a compelling prize, the one place, beyond the Moon, where robotic and human exploration could converge. Remarkably successful with its roaming multi-billion-dollar robot, Curiosity, NASA’s Mars program represents one of the agency’s greatest achievements. Why Mars analyzes the history of the robotic Mars exploration program from its origins to today. W. Henry Lambright examines the politics and policies behind NASA's multi-decade quest, illuminating the roles of key individuals and institutions along with their triumphs and defeats. Lambright outlines the ebbs and flows of policy evolution, focusing on critical points of change and factors that spurred strategic reorientation. He explains Mars exploration as a striking example of “big science” and describes the ways a powerful advocacy coalition—composed of NASA decision makers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Mars academic science community, and many others—has influenced governmental decisions on Mars exploration, making it, at times, a national priority. The quest for Mars stretches over many years and involves billions of dollars. What does it take to mount and give coherence to a multi-mission, big science program? How do advocates and decision makers maintain goals and adapt their programs in the face of opposition and budgetary stringency? Where do they succeed in their strategies? Where do they fall short? Lambright’s insightful book suggests that from Mars exploration we can learn lessons that apply to other large-scale national endeavors in science and technology.
Mission Objectives and Comparison of Strategies for Mars Exploration
Author: Michael B. DukePublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mars (Planet)
Languages : en
Pages : 16
Book Description