NASA's 2020 Mars Should Hunt Down Signs of Past Life: A Report

NASA's 2020 Mars rover should look for signs of past life, collect samples for possible future return to Earth and demonstrate technology for future human exploration of the Red Planet, according to a 154-page report prepared by the Mars 2020 Science Definition Team appointed by NASA  in January to outline objectives for the upcoming mission.

Composed of 19 scientists and engineers from universities and research organizations, the team proposed a mission concept that could accomplish several high-priority planetary science goals and be a major step in meeting President Obama's goal of sending humans to Mars by the 2030s, according to NASA.

"Crafting the science and exploration goals is a crucial milestone in preparing for our next major Mars mission," John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington, said in a press release. "The objectives determined by NASA with the input from this team will become the basis later this year for soliciting proposals to provide instruments to be part of the science payload on this exciting step in Mars exploration."

Going forward, the U.S. agency will conduct an open competition for the payload and science instruments that will be placed on a rover similar to Curiosity, the space vehicle that landed on mars almost a year ago. By using Curiosity's design, NASA reports, the agency will be able to decrease mission costs and risks in addition to ensure the delivery of a rover capable of accomplishing the mission goals.

Far from abandoning current objectives, the recent proposal would build upon the accomplishments of Curiosity and other Mars missions, including Spirit and Opportunity rovers which, along with several other orbiters, have identified evidence that the Red Planet once had water. In addition, Curiosity recently confirmed that past environmental conditions on Mars could have supported living microbes. Based on these observations, according to the Science Definition Team, looking for signs of past life is the next logical step.

The team's report also offers details into how the rover would use its instruments for visual, mineralogical and chemical analysis even on a microscopic scale so as to better understand the environment and identify biosignatures, or features in rocks and soil potentially biologically formed.

"The Mars 2020 mission concept does not presume that life ever existed on Mars," said Jack Mustard, chairman of the Science Definition Team and a professor at the Geological Sciences at Brown University in Providence, R.I. "However, given the recent Curiosity findings, past Martian life seems possible, and we should begin the difficult endeavor of seeking the signs of life. No matter what we learn, we would make significant progress in understanding the circumstances of early life existing on Earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life."

All told, the report proposes the rover collect and package as many as 31 samples of rock cores and soil for a later mission to bring back for more definitive analysis back on Earth.

"The Mars 2020 mission will provide a unique capability to address the major questions of habitability and life in the solar system," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "This mission represents a major step towards creating high-value sampling and interrogation methods, as part of a broader strategy for sample returns by planetary missions."

Samples collected and analyzed by the rover will help inform future human exploration missions to Mars, the report explains, adding that the rover could help designers of a human expedition better understand any potential hazards posed by Martian dust as well as demonstrate how to collect carbon dioxide, which could be a resource for making oxygen and rocket fuel. Improved precision landing technology that enhances the scientific value of robotic missions, NASA adds, will also be critical for eventual human exploration on the surface.