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A new deal for the human exploration of Mars

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Common ground between human spaceflight and astrobiology can be used as the foundation for a new deal in the exploration of Mars that will allow stakeholders to reach critical astrobiological goals while supporting safer human exploration.

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Fig. 1: Perseverance acquired and stored this double-sample of the Jezero Crater delta front between July and August 2022.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS (main image); NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU (inset)

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Acknowledgements

This is a contribution from the project “MarsFirstWater”, funded by the European Research Council, Consolidator grant number 818602.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, CSIC-INTA), Madrid, Spain

    Alberto G. Fairén

  2. Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Alberto G. Fairén

  3. SETI Institute Carl Sagan Center, Mountain View, CA, USA

    Nathalie A. Cabrol

Authors
  1. Alberto G. Fairén
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  2. Nathalie A. Cabrol
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Correspondence to Alberto G. Fairén.

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Fairén, A.G., Cabrol, N.A. A new deal for the human exploration of Mars. Nat Astron 7, 753–754 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02013-w

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