Overview
- The report names the search for indigenous extant or extinct life as the highest-priority objective for crewed Mars exploration.
- It prioritizes 11 science goals to be pursued within a single exploration zone near the landing site.
- The committee outlines four three-mission campaigns, favoring a 30–cargo–300 sequence focused on one ~100 km zone, with an option to drill 2–5 km for subsurface life.
- Recommendations include updating planetary protection policies to enable research in potential life-bearing regions without compromising safeguards.
- The blueprint urges a Mars surface laboratory, human–agent teaming and deep-drilling capabilities, and sample return on every crewed mission, while leaving timelines, budgets and site selection to future decisions.