If we find a structure on Mars

[Joker]

Let's say one of the future robots on Mars finds an ancient structure hidden in a cave. No aliens or other apparent signs of current occupancy, but just a building visible from the mouth of a cave.

How would we go about exploring it?

I'm talking practically, what would be the proper procedure? How much time would it take before we moved the drone closer?

I'm not too interested in the societal impact the finding would have. I'm more interested in how we would go about understanding it, scientifically.

Assume that there is no conflict back on Earth after finding out we weren't alone. All the space agencies are working together harmoniously.

 

[delericho]

We'll send a team of four people with very specialised skills. And a 3.048 metre pole.

 

[Morrus]

I imagine that would fast track funding and development and get people out there much more quickly. In the meantime, specialised landers would check it out.

Plus, if there is no conflict on Earth and all nations are working together harmoniously, we have a crapload of money available which is no longer being spent on killing each other.

 

[Umbran]

Well, that would entirely depend on the capabilities of the probe that finds it. Each probe and rover is built with very specific capabilities that it can't really change.

For example - most of them are solar powered. Your building is in a cave, in the shade? Well, then, Houston, we have a problem, because the rover won't have much power in the cave. And, it's radio won't be built to get signals into and out of the cave. This is also a problem. At best, you're sending your rover into the cave to get some data, and it has to pop back out to radio home and power up, and then back in again. This is silly.

I don't know if there is an actual procedure NASA has defined for this. But, for argument's sake - the building has been there for what, thousands of years? Longer than that, and it is difficult to gather how it wouldn't be covered in sand, but still, there's no rush *this minute*. We can take our time to build a new probe or set of probes built with this investigation in mind. Use the prob eon the scene to gather what data you can, and design a new one to suit the new investigation. Take a couple years, do it right.

 

[Kramodlog]

Ultimately, it would mean finding a way for humans to survive the voyage between Earth and Mars and maintain them healthy enough to explore the structure for a while. Those people might not be archeologists and linguists. Engineers who solidify the structure and/or salavage some technology are a better bet. Linguists and archeologists are gonna see pictures for quit some time.

 

[Ryujin]

I think that Morrus has the right idea, in that at least the initial exploration would likely be done by purpose built probes. It would likely also result in the fast-tracking of lander and habitat development, so that long term manned exploration could take place as soon as possible.

But without the assumption that everyone is working together, someone would just nuke it.

 

[tomBitonti]

I dunno; we could get more probes there a *lot* quicker than people, and, anyone who was sent might not be coming back because of contagion risks.

Sending in the rover to take a few pictures then back out to relay them doesn't sound any more laborious than waiting 6 months to download data captured during the Pluto flyby. I'd be more worried about the chance that the rover got stuck and could not be given new instructions. But, we have probes doing a lot of automated things already. I image there would be a long sequence of the probe going very slightly into the cave, then back out, over and over while relaying new data. That would be balanced against the expected lifetime of the probe, with some maximal value determined for how many trips to make which balanced the lifetime, the risk, and the distance to travel.

I could see countries not fighting new land wars, but very possibly fighting to be first to get new probes to the discovery. My questions are whether countries would cooperate or compete to be the first to get there. If they didn't cooperate, how much sabotage there would be. And either way, how quickly could a new probe be gotten to the discovery. Building probes and launch vehicles is today a years long process, with lots of uncertainty about the availability of launch vehicles.

What is the likelihood of one of the "probes" being a bomb, ala StarGate, as a safeguard?

Thx!
TomB

 

[Morrus]

If countries were not cooperating, I suspect that there would be a race element to it. China would love the prestige, I'll bet.

Or maybe private companies would be involved....

 

[Umbran]

I dunno; we could get more probes there a *lot* quicker than people, and, anyone which was sent might not be coming back because of contagion risks.

With respect - there's not a whole lot of contagion risk. We are at much higher risk of contaminating Mars than it contaminating us at this point. Whoever goes will have *years* to incubate infection - we'll know if they are a threat before they get back. The real issue to coming back is energy, not contagion.

I could see countries not fighting new land wars, but very possibly fighting to be first to get new probes to the site. My questions are whether countries would cooperate or compete to be the first to the discovery.

Cooperate. Why? Simple: The United States the the only country with a proven track record of soft-landing probes on the surface of Mars, and even we don't get it right all the time. And,if you are in a race, and you botch that landing, you are now completely *out* of the race. The risk of looking like complete idiots is high. So, cooperate.

What is the likelihood of one of the "probes" being a bomb, ala StarGate, as a safeguard?

Begin rant:

Safeguard? Against what? Note that this isn't a Stargate. There is no implication of super-advanced technology. If the Martians were going to come and get us, they'd have done it already. Chill out, for cryin' out loud.

End rant.

 

[tomBitonti]

Actually, I wonder what the probabilities would be for a structure on Mars to be a remnant of a past Earth based civilization vs. the probability that it was a Mars based civilization, vs the probability that it was from another star.

The risk increases dramatically to the second and then again to the third case.

I suspect folks would be extremely cautious re: The chance of contagion, however slight. I doubt any material would be sent back until it was very extensively studied on site.

It would seem that the chance of advanced technology is high in all three cases: The third case is a given. The first requires space travel capabilities in advance of our own. For a remnant of a Martin civilization, the odds depend on the expected lifetime of a civilization (the odds are that the site is from the end of the civilization). That's very hard to estimate, but until we have additional data (we have one sample point currently), the upper end of the range to estimate seems quick high.

Thx!
TomB