Open Exploration

Carl Sagan with a model of the Viking lander (Wikimedia Commons)

The famous astrophysicist, writer and TV presenter Carl Sagan talked in his equally famous work Cosmos about the way space missions should be managed. In the chapter on Mars he mused that a good way of going about exploring Mars would be to use rovers. Roving platforms would add an element of true exploration according to Sagan primarily because of their mobility. Imagine trying to explore a new continent by staying put at the beach. Perfect if you’re some sort of oceanographer or a meteorologist but absolutely useless if you want to explore or survey the land. You've got to move. I imagine he and his colleagues must have been frustrated with the Viking landers of the '70s which were stationary laboratories in sites that were painfully bleak.

Sagan also noted that the exploration element is important in that it enables the public to connect with mission, which is (at least in his days) usually dominated by the thinking that the public isn’t exactly a disciplined lecture room and therefore does not need direct participation. In the book and throughout his life he reminded that curiosity is a key human nature. It inspires us, empowers us, takes us to bold new heights and enriches our lives. ‘What’s that?’, ‘What kind of rock is that?’, ‘Let’s go see that weird sand dune’. These are the words that come out of great missions with great destinations AND great public engagement. Sagan’s philosophy was infective and many of his students run some of NASA’s missions today. Ever since the previous Mars rovers program Spirit and Opportunity decided to release the images on their website live as they came from the spacecraft for the public’s viewing pleasure it has become a norm if not a necessity for many missions. Other organisations like the European Space Agency (ESA) have been slow to follow but are catching up. It does pay to have good public engagement; more open, more funding!

Now you too can be part of the action and share the excitement, the passion and the beauty of adventure as the new rover screams its way towards Mars, to Gale crater. As soon as the rover lands you will be able to see the images live as they come down; you will see what the mission’s scientists see and you will wonder what the scientists wonder and with all of this happening you will be wiser. Now that is open exploration. If you would like to follow the mission closely visit the mission’s website at http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

In the next post I will focus on what the mission is up against as Mars looms ever closer.