In 2015 NASA announced that they found determinate evidence ofliquid water on Mars . But while get a physical sample distribution would revolutionize science , it ’s forbidden by international law .
TheOuter Space Treatyof 1967 forestall every nation on Earth from ship a mission , robot or human , close to a water generator in the fear of pollute it with life story from Earth [ PDF ] . In its 140 - million - mile journeying from Earth to Mars , it ’s possible that Curiosity has carried harmful microbes all the style from home . Even though NASA tries its best to sterilize all quad - traveling equipment before launching by subject it to intense ultraviolet light , it still might harbour microbic hitchhiker .
In hypothesis , NASA could turn up the heat and radiation to a level moderately much guaranteed to destruct any microbic life — but that could also terminate up wiping out the rover ’s internal organization . " In social club to be completely uninventive , they ’d have to use really herculean ionizing radioactivity or oestrus , both of which would damage the electronics , ” University of New South Wales astrobiologist Malcolm Waltertold Fairfax Media . " So they go as far as they dare . "
Another issue that would forestall Curiosity from investigating the water seed is the terrain itself . The side where the streaks formed are unconscionable and therefore difficult to navigate . Future Mars bird of passage could be designed with this vault in mind , and they could also come fit out with DNA sequencers to examine for life or three-D - printing capabilities to construct smaller bot with little to no chance of being contaminate .
NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
alas , it ’s too later for NASA modify the next generation of Mars rovers , which is set tolaunch in 2020 . TheEuropean Space Agencysays it plans to transmit an organic mote analyzer on its 2018ExoMars mission , though they still would n’t be capable to essay Martian piddle unless they could insure 100 percentage sterilization .
[ h / t : Science Alert ]
