COSPAR Panel on Exploration (PEX) Exploration Roadmap: The Case for Mars

The new phase of exploration offers multiple perspectives, for the space community and for many other sectors of activity. But it also brings some threats to the preservation of scientific research and environmental stewardship of Mars. A proactive integration of environmental awareness into the new wave of  exploration will be the best way to mobilize public and private stakeholders, federate their resources and their creativity, and preserve for future generations the natural environment of Mars. The new wave of robotic and sample return from Mars will hopefully take place in an era of increased environmental awareness for our own planet, in which close monitoring of environmental impacts of human activities will drive innovative solutions to mitigate them

In this presentation we describe land-use and management policies by various countries and U.S. Agencies in an effort to balance environmental preservation, resource utilization and economic interests.   In particular we compare the U.S federal land management system and ecotourism policies with preservation of natural landscapes and resource use. We describe the Mars Sample return re-re-design concepts from the eight selected teams with regard to sustainable exploration of Mars.