Future exploration of Mars will concentrate on:
Clearly, topic 5 is the most exciting and most interesting questin to
mankind. However, the other four topics should not be ignored in our
rush for the search of life as they contain questions of very high
scientific importance in respect to comparative planetology. To
study the internal structure of Mars on clearly needs a network (at
least three) or seismic stations, operating simultaneously. The same
holds for the study of atmospheric processes. Both were major goals
for the proposed international InterMarsNet mission which
unfortunately did not get the support of the decision making bodies
of ESA. More precise measruements of the elemental and isotopic
composition of the constituents of the Martian atmosphere are very
important and can be obtained by a single dedicated lander. In order
to acquire better data on the bulk chemical composition of Mars it is
essential that the data on the chemical composition of Martian
meteorites are augmented by similar data of a larger number of
igneous rocks from different geological units on Mars either by in
situ analyses or by analyses on returned samples. The bulk
composition of Mars and its comparison to that of the Earth will
allow to improve the understanding of the formation of planets in the
inner solar system considerably. From the knowledge on the evolution
of the Martian atmosphere and the abundance of volatiles it is hoped
to get insight to the causes of the dramatic climate change to which
Mars was obviously subjected to.