Last year, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which currently spends its days flying over the surface of Mars, became known asRemnants of another world” This image is circulating again, but it is not alien in nature. Rather, these images are just a showcase of how humanity is destroying the universe while we are trying to explore it.
Obviously, it’s impossible to send a multi-billion dollar spacecraft to another planet without leaving behind trash. Current photos show a collection of debris on the surface of Mars. And while it may be tempting to jump to the alien explanation, the wreckage is actually just part of the lander that delivered Ingenuity to Mars.
Although there are some good points in the image. For example, studying NASA’s Mars debris left behind by Ingenuity’s lander will help scientists devise better ways to land spacecraft on other planets. But it also highlights the enormous costs of human exploration. And no matter what we do, every time we go to another planet, we will always leave behind a pile of garbage.
From the cost of materials needed to build these spacecraft to the cost of the fuel to power them, the cost of space travel is already prohibitive. But considering how much trash our space missions create on these planets, it’s hard not to want to advocate for better ways to deal with the trash they leave behind.
And we have already come a long way. Indeed, NASA’s Mars Debris shows just how much trash we leave behind on Mars, but the state of reusable rockets dramatically increases the amount of waste produced per mission. It helped to reduce to. All we have to do now is find a way to land on Mars without leaving behind a ton of debris.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Last year, Perseverance discovered more human debris on Mars, spurring similar conversations about how to better handle space exploration. For now, these images will continue to serve as a reminder of the cost of human exploration and the moments of fear that come with exploring new planets and sending probes to the surface.