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As the latest successes
and failures come and go,

Mars continues
to give up her secrets.

Invisible clouds are revealed
with ultraviolet light

and the search for the source of methane
continues with ExoMars.

As we prepare to land humans
on the "Red Planet,"

getting there is one thing.

Staying long-term is another.

Can we really conquer this planet?

The joint European and Russian
ExoMars made a successful launch

with great applause
and journeyed uneventfully to Mars.

Our instrument is
devoted to the measurement of trace gases

by measuring the solar radiation passing
through the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

Some scientists are trying
to determine the local origins

of methane gas.

Is it a sign of life?

We're interested in looking at where
the trace gases may be coming from.

So, for example, if methane is there
in abundance

and you see it locally coming
from a particular place,

you'd like to know
whether it's got a volcanic origin,

whether it might be old gases
that have been trapped in ice

that's then released due to sublimation
processes, things like that.

It doesn't have to be biology,
and it's important to recognize here

that I'm a little bit of a sceptic.
I don't go for this life business.

I try to keep the other guys honest.

ExoMars made a perfect orbit
insertion around Mars

and commenced flexing
its considerable technological muscle...

...returning high resolution images,
and stereoscopic observations,

enabling highly detailed
three-dimensional maps to be created.

However,
the mission didn't go entirely to plan.

The lander half of the probe,
the Schiaparelli lander,

made an ideal separation from the orbiter
and commenced a textbook descent.

The heat shield functioned as expected.
All systems go. The drogue chute, then the main
were deployed correctly.

Then the curse of Mars struck.

One second's worth of erroneous data

was passed onto the onboard guidance
and navigation control system.

When this odd data was merged
into the computer's algorithm,

it generated a false altitude reading,
placing the lander below ground level.

This triggered the premature release
of the parachute and back shell.

Braking thrusters fired and the lander's
on ground systems began operating,

thinking it had landed.

Unfortunately,
it was still 3.7 kilometers in the air,

and the universal laws of gravity
took over,

the lander
smashing helplessly into the ground.

Satellites overhead soon located
the parachute and back shell

and then the lander itself, looking
like a squashed bug on a windscreen.

The lander was, however,
a technology demonstrator,

and the problems
that arose could be quickly remedied.

So ESA is still fully confident
of the technology

and will proceed with the next lander
containing the ExoMars 2020 Rover.

With the latest analytical technology,

the rover will drill down as far
as two meters into the Martian soil,

looking for those elusive microbes.

This is the Interact Centaur rover
from ESA.

It can be remotely controlled
from orbit by ESA astronauts.

NASA has its own version.

They are one of the tools
for future investigations on Mars.

The proof of concept in Earth orbit
will make it a reliable tool on Mars.

Astronauts can maneuver
the robot to a test table,

then perform very fine operations
with a number of tools and devices.

It could even help assemble hardware
and habitats on the Martian surface

while astronauts orbit overhead.

NASA's Curiosity rover continues
its epic journey across Gale Crater,

covering over 14 kilometers
in its three years of operation.

It will soon be replaced by its smarter
big brother, Mars 2020 Rover.

Built on the same configuration,

the 2020 Rover looks strikingly similar
to Curiosity with some improvements:

a landing hazard redirect feature
to avoid any rocky landings,

new wheels
and treads for better climbing,

audio microphones
to hear what's going on,

and a rock core sampling drill.

One of the main goals of
the Mars 2020 mission will be to determine

the potential habitability
of the planet for human visitors.

Scientific instruments onboard
include an advanced stereoscopic imager,

environmental sensors for temperature,
wind speed and direction,

pressure, humidity
and dust particle size and shape.

PIXL is an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer
for chemical analysis of Martian soil,

RIMFAX, a ground-penetrating radar
to study subsurface geology,

and SHERLOC,
an ultraviolet laser spectrometer

for the study of fine scale mineralogy
and organic compounds.

The final instrument package is MOXIE,

a technology demonstrator
designed to generate oxygen

from the carbon dioxide
in the Martian atmosphere,

a critical piece of kit
if humans are going to survive on Mars.

It will generate
oxygen for fuel and breathing.

Mars's atmosphere
is predominantly carbon dioxide,

plus trace amounts of argon,
nitrogen, oxygen and carbon monoxide.

Its mean pressure is 600 pascals.

That's about 0.6% of
Earth's air pressure at sea level.

So another vital piece
of equipment is the spacesuit.

In the future,
I'm looking forward to spacesuits

that are much more of a tool
for astronauts,

that is more integrated with the human,

and is less of an encumbrance,
and more of a help.

Several spacesuit designs
are underway.

There are many specific requirements:

the flexibility to walk and move
on a low-gravity planet, for example,

and the ability to bend down
and pick things up.

It must also be able
to illuminate the way forward.

Ease of access
for donning the suit is important.

as are, clearly, a pressure garment
and thermal insulator

for the low pressure
and temperatures on Mars.

The latest prototypes,
like the Z2 and the PXS,

are going through
extensive development for surface use.

The Z2 meets the walking
and flexibility requirements.

The PXS is a more traditional style
of suit, but is also quite flexible.

My main responsibility
on the spacesuit

is the suit control assembly.

That's the box that sits right here
on the front of the suit

and it allows the crew member to control
their life support components,

such as their cooling and their pressure.

It also controls
a lot of the electronics,

such as the radio
and the volume,

and they can see some of the data

that's coming back and forth
from the suit computer to that display.

So one of the great things
about this job

is that after designing the box,

I'm able to get into the suit,
since it's one of the smaller sizes,

and we can actually see
what the limitations are,

you know, with my own hands and eyes

and not just hear that secondhand
from another text subject

that would be looking at the same data

and then to take that back
and then to go build the next prototype and incorporate the changes
that need to be made,

so it works better the next time.

Another critical element for
surviving on the Martian surface is power.

The sunlight reaching Mars

is just a little more than half
of what we receive on Earth.

In addition,
there are regular dust storms

and solar power may
not be sufficient of itself.

It will have a role to play,

but other sources of electric power
may be required.

NASA has been developing fission
power plants for such requirements,

working on two systems.

The less-powerful Technology Demonstrator
unit for spacecraft and surface operations

requires watts of power numbered
in the tens or one-hundreds.

Kilopower addresses the need for surface
power from one to ten kilowatts

for human habitats
and scientific exploration

in the harsh environments
of Mars and beyond.

The journey to Mars is a long one,
not in kilometers as such,

but where the scientific,
technical and engineering hurdles

that need to be overcome are concerned.

What are the things they need
to know

to be able to safely land,
live and return from Mars?

The scientific knowledge,
the technologies that we need

that can make human exploration
of Mars happen

are within our grasp.

In our lifetime, we actually can see
humans land and work on Mars.

A major step
in this direction of planning

has been the definition of what we call
"human exploration zones."

This is a region where we will land,
we will live,

we will use resources
in many different ways,

and we want to go to a variety
of scientifically exciting locations

and do it in ways
that humans and only humans can do.

One drawback:
humans are fragile.

To function correctly, they have
a specific set of requirements.

Atmospheric pressure, air to breathe,

water and food for nourishment,
rest and sleep,

and protection from radiation.

Mars offers very few,

but it does have
an abundance of radiation.

Mars habitats have been the subject

of years
of engineering and technical research.

NASA has even thrown open
the doors to students and architects

to help design and develop
suitable accommodation.

There are minimum requirements

around the number of occupants
and length of stay.

With limits
on payload weight and mass,

using local resources like sand,
rock and ice to develop habitats

has been strongly recommended.

The 3D-print competition threw up
some very good ideas and designs,

some of which NASA is developing further.

The three finalists were Team LavaHive...

Team Gamma...

and Team Space Exploration
Architecture and Clouds Architecture

Office of New York.

Their ice house included
all the components required

to assemble
the habitat in-situ on Mars.

The vehicle lands at the designated site

and deploys several
robots and water storage assets.

The robots set about building
a secure base,

utilizing local sand
sintered together with lasers.

An inflatable plastic membrane is then
deployed, along with internal airlocks.

The robots source local water

which is used to 3D-print
the inner lining of the membrane.

Water is an excellent shield for radiation

and being translucent,
it allows sunlight in.

Hanging gardens and windows
add a touch of home.

NASA Langley has developed the ice dome
concept from this prize-winning concept.

Creating a colony on
another planet

really is a mammoth task.

Leaving aside the training,

technology and traveling,
not to mention the money,

building a functional
self-sustaining village

will need people from all walks of life.

Apart from the scientists, geologists and
prospectors there to do the primary job,

people will not cope with living
in prefabricated temporary shelters.

A town will have to be built
from local resources.

Engineers, builders, fabricators,

electricians, plumbers and
mechanics will all be in great demand.

So will I.T. and communications experts,

doctors, nurses, pilots,
farmers, botanists...

and the list goes on.

On the other hand,

not everyone gets the chance
to colonize an entirely new planet.

So that is one draw card.

If Mars One is any example,

it seems there will be plenty
of volunteers for this dangerous work.

One question hasn't been asked yet
and it's of fundamental importance.

Can humans live long-term in space
or on another planet with reduced gravity,

less sunlight and
lower atmospheric protection?

One proposal before NASA at the moment

is the Multigenerational
Independent Colony

for Extraterrestrial Habitation,
Autonomy and Behavior,

which contracts nicely to "MICEHAB"

and it's exactly what that name suggests.

MICEHAB is a spacecraft and
autonomous support system

to study the long-term generational health
of mice in Martian gravity.

The vehicle would be placed
in a stable orbit close enough to the moon

to be within easy reach
by manned missions.

The MICEHAB would be deployed
and spun up to Mars-like gravity.

It would then support the growth of
a large mouse colony for a year or longer,

studying reproduction and maturation
of lab mice through multiple generations,

which is to say,
much faster than human subjects.

The vehicle would house multiple levels
of mouse enclosures

designed to be serviced and cleaned
by an onboard robot.

The system would take care of feeding,
watering and cleaning the mice,

including their medical care.

Breeding would be selectively controlled
over generations in the low gravity.

The mice would also be studied for any
physical, behavioral or metabolic changes.

The project would also collect data
on deep space radiation

and the hazards posed to humans.

The robotic systems would also provide
an in-situ demonstration

of autonomous activities like maintenance
for long-duration deep-space missions.

From time to time,
astronauts would dock with the habitat

to collect data and specimens.

MICEHAB will allow humans to prepare
to live independently from Earth

in space
and on the surface of Mars,

and help answer
that critical question we started with.

Could humans survive long term
in low