Because people are worried about the insistence on finding human garbage on Mars
NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars. Image source: NASA It may seem silly to look at one of the latest photos from Perseverance and be upset by the fact that Mars is already full of human waste. After all, it’s not like picking up tons of rubbish on Mars. And, while this is technically true, the discovery of a thermal blanket from Perseverance landing has raised some questions. First, there will always be concerns about climate change that many believe humanity is promoting. There are, obviously, many reasons behind the ongoing changes in our global climate, and humanity undoubtedly plays a role in all of this. This place we play, has also raised some concerns about how space exploration could make it full of human junk. These are not invalid concerns under any circumstances. In fact, in 1966, many countries signed the Space Treaty. This agreement essentially agreed that space exploration would benefit everyone. He also said that we will avoid “harmful contamination of space and celestial bodies. Obviously, this includes not letting a pile of human rubbish pile up on Mars. But many argue that this condition does not say enough. And, with the recent discovery made by Perseverance, that could very well be true. Every spacecraft we put on Mars or any other planet will leave behind some kind of rubbish. There is simply no reason to avoid it. However, there are steps we can take to reduce the amount of rubbish we allow to accumulate.
What did Perseverance finally find?
This glossy piece of foil is part of a thermal blanket – a material used to control temperature. It’s a surprise to find it here: my descent stage crashed about 2 km away. Did this piece land here after that or did the wind blow it here? pic.twitter.com/uVx3VdYfi8 – NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) June 15, 2022 Something that brings us back to the rubbish found by Perseverance on Mars. The silver piece of material was found wedged in a rock formation on the surface of Mars. Although the exact nature of the garbage is not known, NASA believes that it is a thermal blanket from the descent stage of the rover. Thermal blankets are used to control the temperature of spacecraft. However, what is surprising about the location of this rubbish is that it is more than 2 kilometers (about 1.24 miles) from where the Perseverance crash site crashed. Not a crazy distance. But it makes you wonder if it landed there or if the wind put it there. Either way, finding human debris on Mars is a cause for concern, even if the accumulation is not yet active. As NASA and other space agencies prepare for manned missions to the planet and to other planets, it will be important to find sustainable materials that deteriorate without creating much extra waste.
