PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

If we believe space pioneers like Elon Musk, mankind’s future lies in the stars ... and we should aim to establish human civilisation on planets like Mars.

Musk is not alone in thinking that we should visit other planets in the hope of establishing other worlds. NASA also hopes to pave the way for future exploration of the Red Planet.

Here in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, engineers observe the first driving test for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover. It will be used in NASA’s mission to study the planet’s climate and geology and collect rock and soil samples for return to Earth. It will also test new technology for future robotic and human missions to Mars.

This rover is the most advanced yet, but life on Mars for the rovers can be unpredictable and harsh. The Opportunity Mars rover (or Oppy, as it was known affectionately by NASA staff) lost contact with Earth in 2018 during a planet-wide dust storm, after surviving on Mars for 15 years. Its twin, Spirit, stopped communicating in 2010 after it got stuck in a sand trap. And no, you can’t call a mechanic out to Mars to fix a damaged wheel.

Yet the sacrifices of the rovers are worth it, particularly if they discover the Holy Grail of space exploration: signs of other life.

NASA has already found evidence of environments on Mars that could have supported the development of microbial life. If the new rover did discover signs of ancient life, it would go a long way in suggesting that we are not alone in the universe.

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