NASA has been talking about sending the very first human to the red planet ever since they caught a glimpse of Mars late last year. Reportedly, a team of archaeologists has already plotted which part of Mars NASA should explore first.
According to Alberto Fairén, a researcher from Spain's Center of Astrobiology, the Argyre basin is the place perfect place in Mars to explore first. They believe that this so called basin contains evidences of life existence on Mars.
"Argyre displays a collection of landscape features that are promising from an astrobiological point of view, including hydrothermal deposits, pingos [mounds of dirt-covered ice fed by water] or ancient glacier deposits. This large collection of special features all together in the same setting, accessible by a single mission, is what makes Argyre unique" quipped Fairén in an interview with Space.com.
So what is so great about the Argyre basin?
Scientists believe that Mars was once an inhabitable planet. Almost 4 million years ago, Mars was overflowing with water and still had an atmosphere that protected the planet from radiation. Scientists claim that a asteroid hit Mars which resulted to the Argyre basin. This impact also saw the creation of more water and a more liveable temperate.
Nevertheless, a lot has changed about Mars over the past millennia. As evidenced by the finding of the Mars Rover, the planet has dried up. There is however a possibility that evidence of earth-like life forms have lived in the red planet. Scientists are hopeful that proof would be discovered in the Argyre basin.
Despite the optimism surrounding the manned landing around the Argyre basin, the pioneering team who would be the first to step foot on the planet would be facing a lot of difficulties in reaching the area. For one, the Argyre basin is too far from the equator which is usually where bases are located. A rover travelling from the basin to the space base would most likely have contaminated samples.
Fairen has since suggested a solution that could solve the contamination problem as reported by Science Alert. According to Fairen, NASA should send orbiters instead of rovers with the Mars mission team.