Mars is a compelling astrobiological target, and a human mission would provide an opportunity to collect immense amounts of scientific data. Exploration alone, however, cannot justify the increased risk. Instead, three factors drive a human mission: economics, education, and exploration. A human mission has a unique potential to inspire the next generation of young people to enter critically needed science and engineering disciplines. A mission is economically feasible, and the research and development program put in place for a human mission would propel growth in related high-technology industries. The main hurdles are human physiological responses to 1–2 years of radiation and microgravity exposure. However, enabling technologies are sufficiently mature in these areas that they can be developed within a few decade timescale. Hence, the decision of whether or not to undertake a human mission to Mars is a political decision, and thus, educational and economic benefits are the crucial factors.
In the past decade, we have monitored the Martian weather, constructed a geologic history, are presently characterizing the radiation environment [1], and have learned that water ice is likely to be present underground [2]. Presently, NASA's Mars exploration program includes orbiters, rovers, and in the distant future, a sample return mission. However, we consider a new direction for Mars exploration: preparation for a human mission.
As a result of our analysis of the mission's technical and political feasibility, the 2002 Astrobiology Academy proposes that NASA adopt a human mission to Mars as a clear and articulated goal of the agency. Since the 1960s, NASA's paradigm has shifted from destination-focused missions, i.e. “We will put a man on the Moon”, to research-driven goals, including space-based monitoring of Earth and the study of life in extreme environments. The Astrobiology Academy advocates a return to a more mission-centric NASA, namely a human mission to Mars, driven by scientific objectives. By coupling science to a human Mars mission, the United States will create a program of exploration that excites the world and is an investment, not only in basic scientific knowledge, but also in strengthening the global economy and creating technologies that improve life around the world.
Below we present a rationale for the choice of a human mission to Mars. Of all the world's space agencies, NASA is the one with the most mission experience; presently, it is the one most capable of initiating a human mission to Mars. For this reason, our analysis focuses on those factors which will enable NASA to undertake such a mission. We examine the state of science and engineering education in the US today, using reports from the National Science Foundation and Congressional commissions, and investigate the effects that a human mission to Mars would have on the science and engineering disciplines. We explore the likely costs of a human mission to Mars in the context of other federal expenditures. The extent of the research and development initiative that would be needed and “spinoff” technologies that might emerge from a human mission are identified. Throughout, we assess the advantages and disadvantages of going to Mars, focusing not only on the science benefits of a human mission, but on broader societal implications.
While there are some inherent difficulties to international efforts—variable and uncertain funding, communication problems, and technical interfacing difficulties—these problems will be outweighed by the tremendous worldwide benefits associated with an international endeavor to Mars. The experience of other space-faring nations exceeds that of the United States in specific technical areas, e.g. the Canadians in large-scale robotics and the Russians in extended duration human space flight and heavy-lift rocketry. Thus, it is nearly inevitable that a NASA-directed human mission to Mars would have international partners.
A United States commitment to leading a human Mars mission would have substantial positive repercussions in international relations. Despite the incredible achievements of the Apollo program, the program did have shortcomings. The primary (some say the only) goal of the Apollo program was that the United States beat the Soviets to the moon. In retrospect, a more long-term planning effort for exploration might have allowed a permanent human presence on the moon or its use as a stepping point to other destinations in the solar system. An international human mission to Mars has the potential to be a more sustained exploration effort because it will not be subject to the whims of a single nation. Other nations have expressed their desire for a human mission to Mars, including Russia [23], China [24], and the European Space Agency in their Aurora program, which indicates that the US will have eager allies if it chooses to undertake a human mission.
