Human Missions to Mars Get a Clear Science Roadmap With a New National Academies Report
As plans for sending humans to Mars move from science fiction toward reality, a newly released report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lays out exactly what science should guide humanity’s first steps on the Red Planet. Commissioned by NASA and shaped by experts across multiple disciplines, the report provides a detailed, science-first framework for the first three human landings on Mars, making it one of the most important planning documents for future space exploration.
Rather than focusing only on rockets, habitats, or timelines, the report centers on a simple but powerful idea: science must be a core reason for going to Mars, not a side benefit. To make that happen, the authors identify the highest-priority scientific questions, explain how humans are uniquely suited to answer them, and propose mission campaigns designed to maximize scientific return while staying realistic about technology and risk.
A Science-Driven Plan for Reaching Mars
The report spans about 240 pages and serves as a scientific roadmap for human Mars exploration. It builds on NASA’s existing Moon to Mars Objectives, which use lunar missions to test technologies and strategies needed for deeper space exploration. While that framework already includes science goals, this new report expands and refines them, identifying gaps and setting clear priorities for the surface of Mars itself.
Importantly, this document focuses on science conducted on the Martian surface. A separate future report will address science priorities during the long in-space phases of a Mars mission, such as the journey to and from the planet.
Experts from institutions across the United States contributed, including several scientists from Penn State, who served on the steering committee and multiple panels. Their expertise influenced priorities in astrobiology, atmospheric science, geology, biological and physical sciences, and human health. The result is a plan that treats Mars not only as a geological target but also as a place where humans will live, work, and adapt in ways never attempted before.
Why Human Presence on Mars Matters for Science
One of the central arguments of the report is that human explorers dramatically expand scientific potential compared to robotic missions alone. Humans can move quickly across terrain, recognize unexpected features, adjust experiments in real time, and collect and prioritize samples with far greater flexibility than robots.
At the same time, the report recognizes that sending people to Mars introduces new scientific questions of its own. Mars is an extreme environment, and living there will test human physiology, cognition, emotional health, and team dynamics in unprecedented ways. Understanding these effects is essential not just for Mars, but for the long-term future of human space exploration.
The Highest-Priority Science Objectives on Mars
The report identifies 11 top-priority scientific objectives that should guide the first human missions. These priorities span planetary science, astrobiology, human health, and technology development.
The most critical objective is determining whether Mars ever supported life. This includes searching for evidence of past habitability, extinct or potentially extant indigenous life, and prebiotic chemistry within the chosen exploration zone.
Another major focus is understanding water and carbon dioxide cycles, both past and present. Water is central to habitability, climate evolution, and future human use, while CO₂ plays a key role in Mars’ atmosphere and climate history.
The report also emphasizes mapping and characterizing the Martian geologic record, including volcanic activity, sedimentary layers, impact history, landforms, and the distribution of volatiles such as ice and liquid water. This geological context helps scientists interpret everything from climate evolution to potential habitats for life.
Human health is another major priority. The report calls for long-term studies of how the integrated Martian environment affects crew physiology, cognitive performance, emotional well-being, and team dynamics, as well as testing the effectiveness of countermeasures.
Mars’ famous dust storms receive special attention. Scientists want to understand what controls their onset and evolution, since these storms dominate present-day atmospheric variability and pose risks to both humans and equipment.
The report also highlights the importance of in situ resource utilization, or ISRU. Characterizing local resources, especially water and materials for propellant, is essential for enabling sustainable exploration and eventual permanent habitation.
Several objectives focus on biology beyond the human crew. These include studying whether the Martian environment affects reproduction and genomes across multiple generations in model plant and animal species, tracking microbial population dynamics in habitats to ensure they remain stable and safe, and examining how Mars impacts plant and animal physiology and development within integrated ecosystems.
Finally, the report stresses the need to carefully measure radiation levels at habitats and sampling sites. Understanding both primary and secondary radiation is critical for protecting astronauts, interpreting samples, and improving risk models for future missions.
Four Mission Campaigns to Maximize Science
To turn these objectives into action, the report proposes four distinct mission campaign concepts. Each campaign is designed around the reality that the first human landings will be limited in number, duration, and resources.
The top-ranked option is the Full Science Campaign, which aims to address all 11 objectives within a single exploration zone. This approach includes three missions: a short crewed surface stay of about 30 Martian days, an uncrewed cargo mission, and a much longer 300-day human mission that enables extensive fieldwork, sampling, and experiments.
Another option is the Optimized Measurement Campaign, which prioritizes the most impactful measurements across objectives and offers more flexibility in site selection.
The Life-Search Focused Campaign concentrates heavily on astrobiology, targeting regions with high potential for subsurface water and enabling deep drilling to search for signs of life.
The Multi-Site Campaign involves three shorter missions to different regions of Mars, allowing scientists to study a wider range of geological and environmental settings.
Each campaign includes detailed planning considerations, such as landing site criteria, equipment needs, sample requirements, crew size, and surface duration.
Planetary Protection and Ethical Considerations
The report also tackles the complex issue of planetary protection. Sending humans to Mars raises concerns about contaminating the planet with Earth microbes and potentially bringing Martian material back to Earth. The authors argue for reasonable, science-based assumptions that protect both worlds while still allowing meaningful exploration to proceed.
This balance will be critical, especially if future missions search for life in environments where contamination risks are highest.
Why This Report Matters
What makes this report stand out is its clear message that science comes with us to Mars. It treats human exploration not as a flag-planting exercise, but as a rigorous scientific endeavor that can transform our understanding of Mars, life in the universe, and humanity’s ability to live beyond Earth.
With realistic timelines suggesting human Mars missions could be achievable within the next 20 years, this document provides a foundation for decisions that governments, space agencies, and industry partners will be making soon.
For scientists and space enthusiasts alike, the report offers a glimpse into how humanity plans to explore another planet with curiosity, discipline, and purpose.
Research Reference:
A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars (2025), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
https://doi.org/10.17226/28594
