University of Kansas (KU) scientists say human-made artifacts on Mars, like abandoned rovers and landers, that represent some of humanity’s first steps into space should be preserved for future generations to study just like archaeologists preserve Earth’s ancient monuments.
KU anthropologist Justin Holcombe, the lead scientist behind the effort, says objects left behind on the moon and Mars are not simply trash, but offer benefits to future scientists similar to how ancient stone projectiles and other artifacts help archaeologists to study humanity’s ancient past.
“Our main argument is that Homo sapiens are currently undergoing a dispersal, which first started out of Africa, reached other continents, and has now begun in off-world environments,” Holcomb said in a statement. “We’ve started peopling the solar system.”
Holcomb says that just like scientists use ancient artifacts to track humanity’s “movement, evolution, and history on Earth,” future researchers will be able to use the probes, satellites, landers, and other human-made materials left on Mars since the dawn of the space age.
“These are the first material records of our presence, and that’s important to us,” he added.
Artifacts on Mars Should Be Treated as Treasure, not Trash
In a published study outlining the need to preserve all of the human-made artifacts on Mars, the authors note that scientists’ first impulse has often been to remove the debris of previous missions to help preserve the natural Martian habitat. Instead, the authors suggest that the material from missions to Mars should be treated as archaeological treasure due to its unprecedented historical value, particularly for future generations of scientists.
“I’ve seen a lot of scientists referring to this material as space trash, galactic litter,” Holcomb said. “Our argument is that it’s not trash; it’s actually really important.”
The authors argue that seeing this material as treasure instead of trash is critical since the methods for dealing with the two types of material are direct opposites. Such a narrative shift is critical, Holcomb says, “because the solution to trash is removal, but the solution to heritage is preservation. There’s a big difference.”
For example, Holcomb says that mission planners should consider preserving existing sites when planning future missions to the red planet. This includes efforts to avoid landing in areas that could disturb these sites.
“[Mission planners will} think about them differently than just trash lying around,” said Holcomb. That’s probably the main thing.”
The study authors cite the site of the Soviet Union’s Mars 2 lander as one example. As the first human-made object to reach the red planet, Holcomb says the site and all of its related debris “represents one of the first times our species touched another planet—not a celestial body, because that was the moon.”
“But the Mars 2 crash is the first time our species left a preserved imprint on the surface of another planet,” he added.
Creating a Historical Archive of Humanity’s Exploration of Space
In their conclusion, the study authors note that future scientists will likely study humanity’s expansion off of Earth in a similar way that we study the historical movements of humans as they expanded into new frontiers. This includes exploring how the environment impacts the artifacts left by those movements.
“That field is called geoarchaeology — specifically, the field that studies geological effects on archaeological materials,” Holcomb explained. “Planetary geoarchaeology is a future field for sure, and we need to consider the materials not only on Mars in general but also in various places on Mars, which have different processes.”
For example, artifacts left behind on Mars can become covered by sand dunes. According to the study authors, Mars has planet-wide sandstorms that can cover the entire globe and localized dust storms that need to be considered when hoping to preserve these sites.
“The Spirit Rover, for example, is right next to an encroaching dune field that will eventually bury it,” said Holcomb. “Once it’s buried, it becomes very difficult to relocate.”
To prevent such a loss, the study authors say that treating humanity’s artifacts on Mars as heritage is a critical first step. If successful, it could lead to the creation of a valuable digital archive of all of the material left behind on Mars, similar to the U.N. Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
“If this material is heritage, we can create databases that track where it’s preserved, all the way down to a broken wheel on a rover or a helicopter blade, which represents the first helicopter on another planet,” Holcomb said.
“These artifacts are very much like hand axes in East Africa or Clovis points in America,” he added. “They represent the first presence, and from an archaeological perspective, they are key points in our historical timeline of migration.”
The study “Emerging Archaeological Record of Mars” was published in Nature Astronomy.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.