{"id":1017545,"date":"2025-12-10T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1017545"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:35:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T13:35:00","slug":"hunting-for-aliens-on-mars-should-be-a-top-priority-say-scientists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1017545","title":{"rendered":"Hunting for aliens on Mars should be a \u2018top priority\u2019, say scientists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In case you hadn\u2019t heard, humans are scheduled to set foot on the surface of Mars<\/a> as early as the 2030s, if space agencies like NASA<\/a> \u2013\u00a0in collaboration with private companies like Elon Musk<\/a>\u2019s SpaceX<\/a> \u2013\u00a0have their way. But what will we actually do there? Why do we want to go in the first place? Is it all just a massive waste of time and energy? Well, that last question is still very much up for debate, but we <\/span>do <\/span><\/em>have some ideas about the first two, courtesy of a new list of priorities for Mars-bound humans, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Academies is a collective, cross-disciplinary institution based in the US, and its new, more than 200-page document<\/a> is supported by NASA. In other words, it\u2019s worth taking pretty seriously. What does it aim to achieve? That\u2019s pretty much spelled out in the title: <\/span>A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first steps humans take on Mars will represent a culmination of hopes and dreams enabled by more than a century of scientific and technological advances,\u201d the report reads. \u201cAnd yet they will only be the first steps; human exploration of Mars will dramatically expand scientific knowledge of the red planet and offer a glimpse of what it is to be human in the universe.\u201d It will also be very, very expensive, so it would be better to figure out our objectives beforehand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In creating the report, it was the National Academies\u2019 job to define these objectives. This was no small task. It required surveying research across many scientific disciplines, via four discipline-specific panels, focused on astrobiology, <\/span>geosciences<\/span><\/a>, atmospheric science and space physics, and sciences that look at the impact of space and the red planet on the astronauts who travel there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So… what did they come up with? Alien lovers will be happy to know that the hunt for living organisms \u2013\u00a0dead or alive \u2013 tops the list as objective number one: \u201cDetermine if, in the exploration zone, evidence can be found for any of the following: habitability, indigenous extant or extinct life, and\/or indigenous prebiotic chemistry.\u201d This glimmer of hope about finding life on Mars follows the <\/span>discovery<\/span><\/a> of a potential biosignature (or sign of life) by NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the search for aliens, there are some other interesting objectives outlined in the report, which lists 11 in total. This includes searching for <\/span>water on Mars<\/span><\/a>, studying what triggers its dust storms (as seen in the space disaster move <\/span>The Martian<\/span><\/em>), and figuring out if there\u2019s any materials that could help build a more permanent base.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of a permanent base, other priorities include determining the impact of the martian environment on the \u201cphysiological, cognitive, and emotional health\u201d of space crews, with an eye on long-term stays in the future. While studies have <\/span>already taken place<\/span><\/a> on Earth, they presumably can\u2019t compare to the real thing. Taking an even longer-term view, objective seven revolves around the viability of off-planet reproduction, and whether there could be genetic effects across multiple generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excited for our potential post-Earth future? Or terrified? You can read about how and where we might live on Mars <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> (spoiler: it\u2019s cities made of mushrooms), and read more about the international space race for the \u201choly grail\u201d Mars mission <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69267\/1\/hunting-for-aliens-on-mars-should-be-top-priority-scientists-nasa-space<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In case you hadn\u2019t heard, humans are scheduled to set foot on the surface of Mars as early as the 2030s, if space agencies like NASA \u2013\u00a0in collaboration with private companies like Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX \u2013\u00a0have their way. But what will we actually do there? Why do we want to go in the first place? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1017546,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-1017545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1017545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1017546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1017545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1017545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1017545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}