Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2067/48909
Title: Mars: new insights and unresolved questions
Authors: Hitesh G. Changela
Elias Chatzitheodoridis
Andre Antunes
David Beaty
Kristian Bouw
John C. Bridges
Klara Anna Capova
Charles S. Cockell
Catharine A. Conley
Ekaterina Dadachova
Tiffany D. Dallas Stefaan de Mey
Chuanfei Dong Alex Ellery
Martin Ferus
Bernard Foing
Xiaohui Fu
Kazuhisa Fujita
Yangtin Lin
Sohan Jheeta
Leon J. Hicks
Sen Hu
Akos Kereszturi
Alexandros Krassakis
Yang Liu
Juergen Oberst
Joe Michalski
P. M. Ranjith
Teresa Rinaldi
David Rothery
Hector A. Stavrakakis Laura Selbmann
Rishitosh K. Sinha
Alian Wang
Ken Williford
Zoltan Vaci
Jorge L. Vago
Michael Waltemathe
John E. Hallsworth
Selbmann, Laura 
Journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ASTROBIOLOGY 
Issue Date: 2021
Abstract: 
Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the
development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and
habitations. Here we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating
to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration,
planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and
findings include:(1)high escape rates of early Mars' atmosphere, including loss
of water, impact present-day habitability;(2)putative fossils on Mars will
likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life;(3)microbial contamination resulting
from human habitation is unavoidable;(4)based on Mars' current planetary
protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian
environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation. Some of the
outstanding questions are:(1)which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy
of the planet is correct;(2)to what degree did deep-penetrating faults
transport subsurface liquids to Mars' surface;(3)in what abundance are
carbonates formed by atmospheric processes;(4)what properties of martian
meteorites could be used to constrain their source locations;(5)the origin(s)
of organic macromolecules;(6)was/is Mars inhabited;(7)how can missions designed
to uncover microbial activity in the subsurface eliminate potential false
positives caused by microbial contaminants from Earth;(8)how can we ensure that
humans and microbes form a stable and benign biosphere;(9)should humans relate
to putative extraterrestrial life from a biocentric viewpoint (preservation of
all biology), or anthropocentric viewpoint of expanding habitation of space?
Studies of Mars' evolution can shed light on the habitability of extrasolar
planets. In addition, Mars exploration can drive future policy developments and
confirm (or put into question) the feasibility and/or extent of human
habitability of space.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2067/48909
ISSN: 1473-5504
DOI: 10.1017/S1473550421000276
Rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Appears in Collections:A1. Articolo in rivista

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