I think the one thing that might cause a big drive to explore Mars would be discovery of life there. Then - especially if interestingly different might well bring a lot of finance into the field.
But of course you would not want humans to set foot on Mars in that case - explore from orbit perhaps though - using telepresence, explore using the Virtuix Omni to walk around on surface as if there and the Occulus rift to explore.
It is interesting to reflect - that far more research has gone into computer games technology than into space missions. So - would be no great surprise if future missions were to use this technology - adapted of cousre - probably improved, but take advantage of the thousands of years - worth of research that has gone into computer game technology.
Use it to explore real worlds such as the surface of Mars, in the same way games players explore virtual worlds.
Or send many semi-autonomous robots to explore in "delayed real time".
Personally I don't see any humans on Mars in 20 years.
Because will take far longer than that to explore Mars enough for present and past life to either find it or rule it out.
About six different present day habitats
That would be an immediate fail of planetary protection - and from then on if you discover life on Mars - and our instruments are designed to detect a single amino acid and the most subtle chirality signal in severely degraded ancient organics- then your first thought would be "this is probably Earth life"
And the DNA life could easily overwhelm Mars life. Simple example. Suppose Mars life hasn't yet developed photosynthesis - or has some ver y primitive early version of photosynthesis not as good as Earth life.
That would be immensely interesting. But introduced Earth cyanobacteria would quite possibly make it extinct before we discover it.
You can make up many scenarios like that. Earth lifew would be a new and potentially invasive species for Mars and no idea what it would do.
Space X I'm sure would want to keep to the requirements of Planetary Protection, Mars One also.
But - personally - don't see how it can be done with humans on the surface. So probably not going to happen at least not so soon as that. Is my view anyway.
The SpaceX rockets though might be just the thing to take telerobots to the surface of Mars. Perhaps humans in orbit operating them, if that is compatible with planet protection
But of course you would not want humans to set foot on Mars in that case - explore from orbit perhaps though - using telepresence, explore using the Virtuix Omni to walk around on surface as if there and the Occulus rift to explore.
It is interesting to reflect - that far more research has gone into computer games technology than into space missions. So - would be no great surprise if future missions were to use this technology - adapted of cousre - probably improved, but take advantage of the thousands of years - worth of research that has gone into computer game technology.
Use it to explore real worlds such as the surface of Mars, in the same way games players explore virtual worlds.
Or send many semi-autonomous robots to explore in "delayed real time".
Personally I don't see any humans on Mars in 20 years.
Because will take far longer than that to explore Mars enough for present and past life to either find it or rule it out.
About six different present day habitats
- Warm seasonal flows (water as only viable explanation - nb these are not the same as either linear gulleys (caused by dry ice) or dark slope streaks (caused by dust avalanches probably)
this is a single season. Get gradually longer in the spring. In autumn they fade away.
These are steep slopes so may be hard to send rovers to. - Dune spots
- Transgressing sand dunes
- Pockets of water on ice / salt interfaces
- Solid state greenhouse effect beneath ice sheets
- Life on the surface using humidity of the atmosphere
- Habitats on interface between ice and salt - the "swimming pools for bacteria" almost anywhere in upper lattitudes of Mras
That would be an immediate fail of planetary protection - and from then on if you discover life on Mars - and our instruments are designed to detect a single amino acid and the most subtle chirality signal in severely degraded ancient organics- then your first thought would be "this is probably Earth life"
And the DNA life could easily overwhelm Mars life. Simple example. Suppose Mars life hasn't yet developed photosynthesis - or has some ver y primitive early version of photosynthesis not as good as Earth life.
That would be immensely interesting. But introduced Earth cyanobacteria would quite possibly make it extinct before we discover it.
You can make up many scenarios like that. Earth lifew would be a new and potentially invasive species for Mars and no idea what it would do.
Space X I'm sure would want to keep to the requirements of Planetary Protection, Mars One also.
But - personally - don't see how it can be done with humans on the surface. So probably not going to happen at least not so soon as that. Is my view anyway.
The SpaceX rockets though might be just the thing to take telerobots to the surface of Mars. Perhaps humans in orbit operating them, if that is compatible with planet protection
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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