[meteorite-list] Researchers Call For Continued Exploration of Mars

[Ron Baalke]

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE


FROM:
Alan Fischer
Public Information Officer
Planetary Science Institute
520-382-0411
520-622-6300
fischer at psi.edu

Researchers Call For Continued Exploration of Mars

March 16, 2012, Tucson, Ariz. -- A new position paper by researchers 
at the Planetary Science Institute calls for sustaining NASA funding 
for the exploration of Mars. Concerned by the administration's budget 
proposal to scale back and effectively bring to an end what has been a 
spectacularly successful program, the paper's authors have outlined a 
path to continue and benefit from a robust American effort to explore 
Mars.

The position paper follows or is available at http://www.psi.edu/position/mars_restoration.html:

RESTORING THE NASA MARS PROGRAM

The President's budget proposal for FY13 effectively ends the U.S. 
exploration of Mars by 2018, except for a directed mission supporting 
human exploration. Congress must not allow the collapse of such a 
successful and valuable program, and the irreversible loss of national 
capability, expertise and preeminence that would follow. We recommend 
that Congress maintain the NASA Planetary Division budget at a minimum 
of its FY12 level and direct NASA to restore the Mars program according 
to the following priorities, consistent with the recent NRC Planetary 
Decadal survey:

o Funding for the Mars Fundamental Research and Mars Data Analysis 
Programs will be increased by 20% in FY13 with the goal of doubling the 
aggregate funding level of these programs over the next 5 years.

o Current operating missions at Mars will be fully funded for as long as 
they continue to produce high value science.

o The Mars Scout program will be reconstituted within the Discovery Program 
Office, with selections every 24 months, thereby maintaining American 
access to the Martian surface and orbital environment.

Technology investments can improve the cost-effectiveness of Mars Sample 
Return, which would be of great value, but no Mars Sample Return mission 
should be undertaken at the expense of the robust Mars exploration program 
outlined above.

The NASA Mars Program has been a Spectacular Success

Since 1992, the United States embarked on a bold enterprise of Mars 
exploration, taking advantage of almost every biannual launch window to 
send orbiters and landers to Mars, each informed by and building upon the 
discoveries of the earlier missions. This endeavor has revolutionized our 
view of this world from cold and dead to a dynamic planet with a dramatic, 
water-rich past in which the conditions for life may have existed. The 
recent discoveries of seasonally flowing water just beneath the surface and 
methane in the atmosphere raise the question of whether life exists today.

The Planetary Decadal Survey

The 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey recommended restructuring the Mars 
program, putting focus on a multi-decadal series of three flagship missions 
to accomplish the return of Mars surface samples to Earth. The first flagship, 
Max-C, would cache samples on the Martian surface. To accommodate this, 
regular missions to Mars under the Scout program would be ended. Assets 
currently in Mars orbit and on the surface would ultimately fail, greatly 
reducing the U.S. presence at Mars. In the event of cost overruns or limited 
budgets, Max-C would be the first mission to be descoped or delayed, 
potentially putting off the Mars Sample Return sequence indefinitely.

The President's FY13 Budget Proposal

The Administration rejected the decadal recommendation of committing to a 
multi-decadal sequence of flagship missions to return Mars samples to Earth. 
This is reflected in the FY13 budget proposal to Congress. Unfortunately, 
the Administration accepts the recommendation to merge future Mars missions 
with the broader Discovery program without giving that program the resources 
to improve its cadence of missions to the recommended 24 months, much less 
select more than one mission per opportunity. In addition, U.S. 
participation in the Mars Trace Gas Orbiter and the ExoMars lander with 
the European Space Agency is cancelled. Continued exploration of Mars is 
severely restricted, if not brought to an end, with the exception of a 
possible orbiter in support of human exploration in 2018. The President's 
proposal also reduces future funding of Mars research programs.

Mars Exploration Should not be Limited by Human Exploration 

The Mars exploration program within NASA's Planetary Science Division 
should be motivated by science. Human exploration goals at this time are 
unconstrained and may range from surface telepresence from orbit to, 
ultimately, settlement. A robust science program at Mars is essential to 
the definition and support of any human exploration activities. Human 
exploration (HEOMD) augmentation of a competed Mars science mission, or 
science cooperation on a HEOMD-funded precursor mission (analogous to 
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) offers reasonable models.

The Need for Mars Research and Data Analysis

American taxpayers have made a substantial investment in Mars missions 
for more than twenty years, and the true return on that investment is 
not limited to a successful launch, or amazing pictures, or press 
conferences, but is measured by the advancement of scientific knowledge. 
The Mars Data Analysis program is the principal means by which the 
torrent of data coming back from Mars is studied and new insights 
attained about its complex geological and climate history. Yet, 
funding for this program has been insufficient for the task, and 
recent and projected funding declines threaten the permanent loss of 
American researchers and the training of new students. The Mars 
Fundamental Research program, the funding for which has also been in 
decline, provides critical experimental, theoretical and field work for 
understanding processes we observe on Mars by relating them to those 
processes on Earth. American taxpayers will get the return they expect 
only through better support for these programs.

The Need for Continued Access to Mars

We look across great new vistas of an alien world and we learn about 
ourselves, our own world and the larger environment of the solar system 
in which we live. We are laying the groundwork for the future of humans 
on Mars. No one mission, human or robotic, can answer all of our questions. 
To continue to build on our accomplishments, make new discoveries, and 
search for life beyond Earth, we need to continue sending diverse 
missions to Mars to study it from orbit and bring new tools to different 
locations on its surface. 

Opening up new frontiers is part of America's identity. Pushing 
back the frontier of Mars has marked the cutting edge of American science, 
technology and innovation. We need to stay the course.


CONTACT:
Mark V. Sykes
Director
520-622-6300
sykes at psi.edu


Planetary Science Institute:
	
Dan Berman,
Research Scientist

Mark Bishop,
Associate Research Scientist

Les Bleamaster,
Research Scientist

Mary Bourke,
Senior Scientist

Frank Chuang,
Research Associate

David Crown,
Senior Scientist

Susanne Douglas,
Senior Scientist

William Feldman,
Senior Scientist

Candice Hansen,
Senior Scientist

William Hartmann,
Senior Scientist

Kimberley Kuhlman,
Senior Scientist

Melissa Lane,
Senior Scientist

Scott Mest,
Research Scientist

Joseph Michalski,
Research Scientist

Eldar Noe Dobrea,
Research Scientist

Asmin Pathare,
Research Scientist

Karly Pitman,
Research Scientist

Alexis Rodriguez,
Research Scientist

Nalin Samarasinha,
Senior Scientist

Mark Sykes,
Senior Scientist

Nicholas Tosca,
Research Scientist

Amy Trueba Knudson,
Associate Research Scientist

David Vaniman,
Senior Scientist

Cathy Weitz,
Senior Scientist

Rebecca Williams,
Senior Scientist

Aileen Yingst,
Senior Scientist

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