Exogeoconservation of Mars

Abstract

Of all the planets in our solar system, Mars is most likely to have evidence of life, whether past or extant and preserve the environments in which such life may have formed and lived. However, human exploration poses risks to possible evidence of life on Mars and its pristine palaeoenvironments. Similar sites of scientific interest on Earth have suffered significant damage. We risk the same for Mars without legal or normative frameworks to protect such sites. In this paper, we analyse threats to Mars and explore gaps that need addressing, drawing from examples on Earth and from legal regimes.