[thedoc (OP)]

What are we expecting to learn on this mission that we were unable to on previous missions?
Asked by Adam Reakes, via Facebook


                                        Visit the webpage for the podcast in which this question is answered.

[chapter podcast=4067 track=12.08.05/Naked_Scientists_Show_12.08.05_10544.mp3]  ...or Listen to the Answer[/chapter] or [download as MP3]

[thedoc (OP)]

We answered this question on the show...



 David -   Okay, well good question.  So, we’re going to a place we’ve never been.  It’s maybe the oldest place we’ve ever visited on Mars and we hope to find there what kind of environments existed at the time of formation of these rocks.  And on the Earth, we have no surfaces like this available.  Earth is a very active tectonic planet so by learning about habitability on early Mars, we also learn about habitability on early Earth.  And we really would like to know at these times when life formed on Earth, did anything like that happened on Mars?