Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.
Mars beckons. Human explorers can appraise the complex nature of the Red Planet — but taking great care in doing so is advised.Astronauts who explore Mars should be careful not to leave too heavy of a footprint, experts stress.
Toss in future human excursions to Mars, as well as projected colonization and chatter about potentially terraforming the Red Planet, transforming it to Earth-like conditions. The thrust of the paper, they comment, is to ensure that locales of geological significance on Mars do not suffer the same damage as many sites on Earth have faced. Sites on the Red Planet can be practically conserved while still allowing science and exploration to continue, they say.
Existing and yet-to-be-defined key sites on Mars that are of universal geoheritage value, the researchers advise, will require"urgent protection," given that the nature of Mars exploration is evolving to become more sample-oriented — such as those now being collected by NASA’sSpotlighted in the paper are two case studies here on Earth involving the Komati River Gorge in South Africa and the Pilbara Early Life Sites in Australia.
"Conserving sites of scientific value is incredibly important, keeping in mind that conservation does not mean 'ringfencing'; sites, but rather applying enough protection to allow continued study and ensure current and future researchers can understand a site and learn of the scientific value contained at a site," Fletcher told Inside Outer Space.
"This is where traditional legal frameworks become tricky, too, particularly as United Nations treaty ratification has decreased for every subsequent space-related treaty, and we now see the introduction of entirely new legal frameworks such as the, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Power Rangers’ New Red Ranger Reignites A 28-Year-Old Debate The Show Never SettledThe Zeo Red, Cosmic Fury Red, and Mighty Morphin Red Rangers in Power Rangers
Read more »
Mars Express captures signs of spiders on MarsESA's Mars Express has captured haunting images of spiders on Mars, dark spots that appear when spring hits the Red Planet.
Read more »
Employees upset over Red Rocks 'staff appearance guidelines'Employees say the guidelines violate their right to self-expression.
Read more »
Twins take down Red Sox to extend winning streak to 11Twins stay red-hot with a masterful pitching performance against the Red Sox.
Read more »
Descendants: The Rise of Red Releases New Music VideoDescendants: The Rise of Red debuts new music video for 'What's My Name (Red Version)'
Read more »
The Original Power Rangers’ Reunion Brought Justice To The Franchise’s Most Underrated Red RangerRed Ranger Rocky in front of the Forever Red Power Rangers
Read more »