Holcomb's new study, titled "Emerging Archaeological Record of Mars," published in Nature Astronomy, emphasizes the need to treat human exploration materials on Mars as archaeological heritage.
"Our main argument is that Homo sapiens are currently undergoing a dispersal, which first started out of Africa, reached other continents and has now begun in off-world environments," said Holcomb, lead author of the paper. "We've started peopling the solar system. And just like we use artifacts and features to track our movement, evolution and history on Earth, we can do that in outer space by following probes, satellites, landers and various materials left behind. There's a material footprint to this dispersal."
Holcomb likens Martian "space trash" to historical middens, ancient refuse heaps that offer archaeologists insights into past human societies. He argues that, rather than removal, these items require preservation.
"These are the first material records of our presence, and that's important to us," he said. "I've seen a lot of scientists referring to this material as space trash, galactic litter. Our argument is that it's not trash; it's actually really important. It's critical to shift that narrative towards heritage because the solution to trash is removal, but the solution to heritage is preservation. There's a big difference."
Future missions, Holcomb asserts, must take care to avoid disturbing these sites, which carry archaeological value. "They won't land in areas that could disturb these sites. They'll think about them differently than just trash lying around," Holcomb said.
The paper builds on Holcomb's prior arguments for a "lunar anthropocene," highlighting humanity's transformative impact on the moon. However, Mars' archaeological record begins with the Soviet Union's 1971 Mars 2 crash landing.
"The Mars 2 crash represents one of the first times our species touched another planet - not a celestial body, because that was the moon," Holcomb said. "But the Mars 2 crash is the first time our species left a preserved imprint on the surface of another planet."
Co-authors of the study include Beth L. O'Leary of New Mexico State University, Alberto Fairen of Centro de Astrobiologia in Madrid and Cornell University, Rolfe Mandel of KU, and Karl Wegmann of North Carolina State University.
Holcomb also highlights the impact of Martian conditions - such as dust storms, cryospheric processes, and iron-rich sands - on artifacts. For example, dunes threaten to bury the Spirit Rover, making its recovery in the future more challenging.
"Planetary geoarchaeology is a future field for sure, and we need to consider the materials not only on Mars in general but also in various places on Mars, which have different processes," Holcomb said.
He advocates for the establishment of a tracking methodology, similar to the U.N. Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space. Such a system, he suggests, could catalog items as small as a broken rover wheel or the historic remains of the first helicopter flight on another planet.
"These artifacts are very much like hand axes in East Africa or Clovis points in America," Holcomb said. "They represent the first presence, and from an archaeological perspective, they are key points in our historical timeline of migration."
Research Report:Emerging Archaeological Record of Mars
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