Tons of human waste on Mars

It seems that even other planets cannot escape. The footprint of human beings is everywhere. That is why there are now tons of human debris on Mars. In half a century of robotic exploration there are already more than 7 tons.

The estimate was obtained by Cagri Kilic, a researcher at West Virginia University. He analyzed the 18 human-made objects bound for Mars on 14 separate missions. The data are from the United Nations Office for Outer Space.

Already 7 tons of human trash on Mars
There are already 7 tons of human garbage on Mars

Debris and more debris

All spacecraft ever sent to Mars weigh about 9,979 kilograms. The weight of currently operational spacecraft on the surface, which is 2,860 kilograms, was subtracted. This gives a total of 7,119 kilograms of human debris on Mars.

Debris on Mars comes from three main sources. Discarded hardware, inactive spacecraft, and crashed spacecraft. Each mission to the Martian surface requires a module to protect the spacecraft. This module includes a heat shield for when the spacecraft passes through the planet’s atmosphere. Also a parachute and landing hardware.

The spacecraft discards pieces of the module as it descends. This debris falls to the ground. Over the years, much small, windblown debris has been found. Earlier this year the Perseverance rover detected a large, glowing thermal blanket. Other missions also found debris from their landers.

The debris usually comes from previous missions.
The remains usually come from earlier missions.

Crashed spacecraft

There are nine inactive spacecraft on the surface of Mars. They are mostly intact. They are better considered historical relics than junk, the author of the study expounds. He does so in an article published in The Conversation.

Crashed spacecraft and their parts are another major source of junk. At least two spacecraft have crashed. Four others have lost contact before or just after landing. Safely descending to the planet’s surface is the most difficult part of any Mars landing mission. And the wreckage adds to the tons of debris on Mars.

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