According to ground.news, NASA has selected new technology to help search for life on Mars. The technology will help determine the possible existence of Martian life before sending crewed missions. 

NASA’s Mars Exploration Program seeks to understand if Mars was, is, or can be a habitable world. The program aims to understand how geologic, climatic, and other processes have shaped Mars and its environment over time. 

NASA searches for life on Mars by looking for biosignatures, or telltale markers, of current and past life. For example, NASA’s Perseverance rover found organic molecules in rocks where a lake once existed on Mars. Organic molecules are a potential indicator of life. 

NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission uses various new technologies, including: 

• Range Trigger: For precise timing of the parachute 
• Terrain-Relative Navigation: Helps avoid hazardous terrain 
• Advanced aeroshell sensor package: Records what the spacecraft experiences during landing and how it performs

The day when human beings finally set foot on Mars is rapidly approaching. Right now, NASA, the China National Space Agency (CNSA), and SpaceX have all announced plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet “by 2040”, “in 2033”, and “before 2030”, respectively. These missions will lead to the creation of long-term habitats that will enable return missions and scientific research that will investigate everything from the geological evolution of Mars to the possible existence of past (or even present) life. The opportunities this will create are mirrored only by the challenges they will entail.

The Agnostic Life Finding (ALF) system is a proposal to extract water from Mars and search for life at the same time. NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) program selected the ALF system for Phase I development in 2024

The ALF system will extract genetic polymers, such as DNA, from large water samples. The system is considered “agnostic” because it uses what synthetic biology has taught us about the limited types of Darwinian genetic molecules. 

The ALF system will also provide water for human consumption and rocket propellant for the return trip to Earth

Here are some potential solutions to sending humans to Mars: 

• Develop advanced propulsion systems These could shorten travel time. NASA and other space agencies are researching nuclear rockets that could make the journey to Mars in just 100 days. 
• Create better shielding technology This could protect astronauts from radiation. One solution is to line a spacecraft with water, which would absorb radiation and provide some amount of shelter during a solar storm. 
• Research ways to mitigate the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body 
• Use a combination of chemical propulsion and gravity assist maneuvers This approach allows for the most direct and energy-efficient trajectory to the Red Planet. 
• Send materials to be used on Mars ahead One possible solution might be to send materials to be used on Mars ahead, on an uncrewed rocket to land on Mars and be waiting when the humans get there. 
• Build habitats underground Scientists and engineers are exploring solutions such as building habitats underground or using Martian soil to shield against radiation. 
• Use nuclear-thermal and nuclear-electric propulsion (NTP/NEP) A spacecraft equipped with NTP or NEP could make the journey to Mars in just 100 days.

Here are some possible shelter solutions for Mars: 

• Subterranean caves These natural buffers could protect humans from the harsh conditions of Mars. 
• Glass domes These lightweight structures could provide temporary homes for astronauts and refugees. 
• Fixed or mobile habitats These habitats should have the same amenities as a home on Earth, plus a pressurized volume and a water recycling system. 
• Mars Ice Home This inflatable, ice-encased structure is NASA’s solution for housing astronauts on Mars for months at a time. 
• In-situ resources Martian soil, basalt, and Martian concrete could be used for construction, but they must be able to withstand low pressure, low temperature, and high space radiation. 
• Chitin This organic polymer could be used to build tools and shelters on Mars.

Human survival on Mars would require living in artificial Mars habitats with complex life-support systems. One key aspect of this would be water processing systems. Being made mainly of water, a human being would die in a matter of days without it.

A possible solution is to incorporate a system for large-scale water mining operations on Mars that could screen for lifeforms. The proposal, known as an Agnostic Life Finding (ALF) system, was one of thirteen concepts selected by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) program this year for Phase I development

The concept was proposed by Steven Bennerand a team from the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) in Alachua, Florida. Benner is a former professor of chemistry at Harvard University, ETH Zurich, and the University of Florida, where he was the V.T. & Louise Jackson Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. In 2005, he founded the Foundation For Applied Molecular Evolution, where he and his colleagues became the first scientists to synthesize a gene, thus giving birth to the field of synthetic biology.

NASA, the China National Space Agency (CNSA), and SpaceX have all announced plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet. The Agnostic Life Finding (ALF) system was one of thirteen concepts selected by NASA this year for Phase I development. The ALF system is designed to simplify astrobiological studies on Mars

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