Telerobotic Mars Mission for Lava Tube Exploration and Examination of Life

AIM AND GENERAL PHILOSOPHY The general profile and overarching goal of our proposed mission is to pioneer potentially highly beneficial, or even vital, and cost-effective techniques for the future human colonization of Mars. Adopting radically new and disruptive solutions untested in the Martian context, our approach is one of high risk and high reward. The real possibility of such a solution failing has prompted us to base our mission architecture around a rover carrying a set of 6 distinct experimental payloads, each capable of operating independently on the others, thus substantially increasing the chances of the mission yielding some valuable findings. At the same time, we sought to exploit available synergies by assembling a combination of payloads that would together form a coherent experimental ecosystem, with each payload providing potential value to the others. Apart from providing such a testbed for evaluation of novel technological solutions, another aim of our proposed mission is to help generate scientific know-how enhancing our understanding of the Red Planet. Mars has been attracting scientific attention predominantly as the most likely planet to provide direct indication of life beyond Earth [1] as well as for its potential habitability [2]. While several robotic missions seeking to find signs of Martian life have already taken place (e.g., Curiosity), substantial areas of the Martian landscape remain unexplored. Chiefly, research indicates that lava tubes on Mars might provide conditions particularly conducive to life, due to stable temperatures and shielding from radiation [3]. Of equal interest is the exploration of conditions that might support life on Mars in the future. Developing reliable strategies for plant growth, for instance, will likely prove crucial for future Martian outposts. By way of example, studies on Earth have shown that certain species of fungi can thrive in extreme environments and even develop resilience to high levels of radiation [4]. Our ability to understand and take advantage of such opportunities might prove indispensable for humanity's future colonization of Mars. To this end, our mission takes aim at the Nili-Fossae region, rich in natural resources (and carbonates in particular), past water repositories and signs of volcanic activity. With our proposed experimental payloads, we intend to explore existing lava -tubes, search for signs of past life and assess their potentially valuable geological features for future base building. We will evaluate biomatter in the form of plants and fungi as possible food and base-building materials respectively.