- What we're looking at is really
when we send humans to Mars,
what do we want them
to be able to do there?
What kind of science to do we
want them to be able to do?
And how can a team of experts
that are present on Earth
actually help these astronauts out
and help them to select, for
example, the right type of rock
that is gonna let us answer
a lot very fundamental
biological questions,
including was there ever life on Mars?
Our field project visited
Idaho and Hawaii in 2016
and in 2017,
in order to conduct these
types of mission simulations.
So the length of time that
the astronauts are going
to be able to conduct
these types of activities
is going to be limited
because of course human safety
is going to the paramount
aspects of exploring Mars.
So the time outside of the
spaceship that the astronauts
are going to be able to have
to hunt for the types of rocks
that are really gonna let us answer
these very fundamental science questions
is going to be limited.
So we really have to
be able to understand,
what they should be looking for?
What kind of training do they need?
What kind of information
should they be collecting,
that can then get sent back to Earth.
How are the scientists on
Earth are going to be able
to process this and come to a consensus,
about which type of samples
they can direct the astronauts
to collect in a timely manner.
Which is why we really wanna understand,
how an Earth based science
team can really contribute
to these astronauts finding these samples
that are really gonna enable
us to be able to answer
a lot of these very fundamental questions.
Like, was there ever life on Mars?
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