Overview
- The 240‑plus‑page report, commissioned by NASA, sets a science‑first agenda with the search for indigenous life, habitability, or prebiotic chemistry as the top objective.
- The favored campaign sequences a 30‑sol crewed visit, an uncrewed cargo delivery, then a 300‑sol crewed stay within a single exploration zone about 100 kilometers across.
- Four campaign options are outlined, with three variants of the 30‑cargo‑300 approach prioritized over a lower‑ranked 30‑30‑30 concept that would spread three short crewed missions across different sites.
- The committee urges an evolution of planetary protection rules, stating current guidelines would block humans from effectively pursuing life‑search investigations in potential Special Regions.
- Additional recommendations include returning samples on every human mission, establishing a laboratory on Mars for in‑situ analysis, and launching a recurring Human‑Agent Teaming Summit to optimize work with robots and AI.