A group of anthropologists led by Justin Holcomb, an assistant research professor of anthropology at the University of Kansas, is calling for NASA and other space agencies to catalog and preserve human-made artifacts on Mars as key archaeological resources. Their research commentary titled The Emerging Archaeological Record of Mars was recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy, according to Universe Today.
Holcomb and his colleagues argued that the objects left behind on Mars—from crashed landers to rover tracks—are not mere "space trash" but valuable heritage that chronicles humanity's first steps in interplanetary exploration. "It's critical to shift that narrative towards heritage because the solution to trash is removal, but the solution to heritage is preservation. There's a big difference," said Holcomb, according to Phys.org.
Human contact with Mars began in 1971 with the crash landing of the Soviet Mars 2 spacecraft, which left man-made debris on the Martian surface. "But the Mars 2 crash is the first time our species left a preserved imprint on the surface of another planet," Holcomb noted, according to Mashable.
The researchers emphasize that tracking these artifacts is essential for understanding human movement and history. "We've started peopling the solar system. And just like we use artifacts and features to track our movement, evolution, and history on Earth, we can do that in outer space by following probes, satellites, landers, and various materials left behind. There's a material footprint to this dispersal," said Holcomb, according to Universe Today.
Martian artifacts include spacecraft debris, unused parachutes, rover wheel tracks, and other features representing key moments in human exploration. Holcomb explained that probes, satellites, Viking landers, the Perseverance rover, and other materials are evidence of human movement, evolution, and history on Earth, according to Space.com.
However, these artifacts face threats from the harsh Martian environment. Cosmic radiation, solar winds, dust storms, and extreme temperature changes pose challenges for their preservation. The Spirit rover, which ceased operations in 2010, is now near a moving sand dune that could completely bury it, making relocation difficult.
Holcomb highlights the need for a systematic approach to document and protect these historical objects. "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," he said.
The researchers suggest that space agencies could use existing frameworks like the United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space to catalog human-made materials on Mars. This would help create a valuable digital archive similar to the register UNESCO maintains for heritage sites.
Moreover, Holcomb stresses the importance of considering these artifacts in future mission planning. "They won't land in areas that could disturb these sites. They'll think about them differently than just trash lying around. That's probably the main thing," he said.
The team believes that preserving these artifacts is crucial for future generations. "They represent the first presence, and from an archaeological perspective, they are key points in our historical timeline of migration," Holcomb explained.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq