On Mars

Traversing the space between Earth and Mars is not the only challenge facing Mission 2004. Other critical decisions must be made to fulfill the primary objective: finding life. It is critical that we select an appropriate landing site on the basis of our definition for life. Such a landing site must not limit the astronauts' surface mobility, yet it must simultaneously provide a wide variety of terrain to optimize the search for life.

With a landing site selected, the issue of descending to the surface becomes a priority. The sheer amount of equipment and supplies required to sustain a 450 day mission on Mars will be enormous. We will be landing separate modules at once, and timing will be critical. Additionally, our lander crafts will have to be capable of withstanding the harsh Martian environment.

Such a hostile environment will not be conducive for human life. It will be essential to provide the astronauts with constant protection, without compromising their comfort. This is essential not only for sustaining life, but also for sustaining morale. The habitat, however, will be incapable of moving across the Martian terrain, and the humans will need specially designed suits to travel beyond the habitat.

The astronauts' range on foot will be severly limited. To overcome this difficulty, we have designed a Martian Rover capable of transporting the astronauts across the Martian surface. The range of this unpressurized vehicle will be approximately 100 kilometers. A constant communication link between the astronauts and the habitat will be essential.

The primary limitations on the rover's range are the resource limitations faced by the astronauts. Oxygen, food, and water, will be the main factors impeding the astronauts' ability to stay away from the habitat, but comfort and morale will also play important limiting roles. The fact that the astronauts will not be able to stay out on the surface for extended periods of time severely limits the effective coverage of the large landing site chosen for the mission. Yet it is essential that the search range, ability to conduct experiments, and coverage of the Martian surface will not be severly impeded by the limitations of scarce resources . To overcome these difficulties, we have designed LMRs (Little Martian Rovers) capable of traversing the Martian terrain in "families" and of assisting the astronauts in the search for life on Mars.

With these various tools at their disposal, the astronauts will be capable of running several tests and experiments on Mars in search of life. The design of these experiments must take into account our definition of life. The experiments themselves must be designed to function in the Martian environment, and must be accepted by the scientific community as useful tests for life. The data from these experiments will then be analyzed on Earth after the mission to Mars.