Inquiring Minds: James Head on exploration of Mars

For several decades, Professor of Geological Sciences James Head has played a significant role in both U.S. and international space missions. Head is involved in the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express mission, both orbiting the planet, and worked in astronaut training, site selection and mission operations during the Apollo Lunar Exploration Program, among other efforts. He spoke recently with the George Street Journal about the current Mars missions and President Bush's recently announced new vision for NASA.

What is the scientific need to explore Mars and Earth's moon?

The critical reason why you would go to the Moon and Mars is scientifically very clear. They present alternate examples of what the Earth might have been like in the past and what it might be like in the future. When we look at the Earth we're studying one basic object with most of its early history destroyed, and we don't have any perspective about Earth if we don't go elsewhere.

When you visit another planetary body you look back at the Earth and see it with new eyes. In my case, looking at geological process, I've never failed to learn something new about the Earth.

For that reason alone, it's important to go and see how other planets are put together and how they've evolved. The Moon and Mars are especially critical in that regard. The missing chapters of Earth's earliest history, the secrets of its formative years, are preserved on the Moon.

What are the data from Mars revealing to us?

On Mars, we have preserved the record of what happens to climate, water and life over geologic time. Part of Mars is very ancient, like the Moon, but there's been so much water in the atmosphere, underground, in polar caps and in ancient lakes and oceans, and climate change throughout the history of Mars. This record gives us an historical perspective on what happens with major climate change on Earth. It's another critical point of view.

It's imperative to ask, what happened with Mars? Why did it once have rivers and oceans and why doesn't it now? Could that be the way the Earth is heading?

What is the significance of President Bush's plan for steady human and robotic space exploration?

President Bush, in one of the best speeches he has given, spoke about the significance of exploration. The critical point is that he gave some broad-scale direction to NASA and talked about the reality of the budget for exploration. I think he delivered a more explicit budget direction than the former President Bush did when he created the similar Space Exploration Initiative in 1992. The new plan seems a pretty wise way in which to handle it politically.

Vision is, to me, really important for the country. This kind of exploration is so far-reaching that it really gives people a view of the horizon, something to look for beyond the day-to-day chaos that we can get caught up in. It's a vision that spurs dreams and goals and provides inspiration for young people toward broadening their horizons and developing career goals in science and engineering. It is almost completely separate from the scientific rationale for why we explore.

Why is space exploration a wise allocation of national resources?

A significant aspect of exploration is that it is something that exceeds our reach. It's a challenge and that's really important for us as a culture and as a species. Can I justify the expense of humans to the Moon and Mars on the basis of the science alone? The answer is "absolutely not." When you put it in the context of a combined program of automated and human exploration, inspiring people, and actually putting humans out into space where they can make a difference in these exploration decisions, there's no question that it's a good investment.

Two out of every three mission attempts to reach Mars haven't succeed. What's your perspective on the success ratio?

Another aspect of exploration is risk. It's pretty much why Columbus sailed three ships. If these things were easy to do, they would've been done.

The late Brown geology professor Tim Mutch had a small flag, which he carried with him, that simply said, "Resolve" on it. And it's such a simple word but it's powerful when you think about what it takes to get these things accomplished - resolve.

That's part of the human importance of this and what it tells you about the human condition. It takes extraordinary effort to accomplish important things. Failure is part of the process. Things don't always go the way you want. But if you have resolve, you can accomplish amazing things. Remember that, from a cold start, we were able to accomplish human exploration of the Moon in less than eight years.