Man will colonize Mars, writer says

People may colonize Mars someday, but it won't be the way Europe colonized America centuries ago, says an expert on the red planet. It will be more like what's happening today on Antarctica.

William K. Hartmann, author of the new nonfiction book, "A Traveler's Guide to Mars," spoke with the Deseret Morning News Friday at Clark Planetarium. The book covers 4.5 billion years of Mars history and is lavishly illustrated with photographs from space probes and the author's own paintings of Mars.

Later in the day, Hartmann was scheduled to discuss Mars in a fee public lecture at the planetarium, then sign books at Barnes & Noble, also located in The Gateway.

A planetary scientist who was the first winner of the Carl Sagan Medal awarded by the American Astronomical Society for popular writings and astronomical paintings, he is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of a medal from the European Geophysics Society for his work on the chronology of crater formation on Mars.

Hartmann said he believes man will someday go to Mars.

"The only alternative is if we have a technological and economic collapse," he said.

The impetus for an American landing on Mars could come from new international competition, such as the Chinese government launching astronauts into orbit or landing on the moon. That could trigger a push by the federal government akin to the race for the moon that was driven by Cold War rivalries, he said.

But it's also possible that interest in the closest neighboring planet may perk up soon because of other reasons, he speculated. Three robotic rovers — one launched by the European Space Agency, the others by NASA — are en route to Mars. If one of them discovers something amazing, like fossils or signs of pre-life organic chemistry, that could prompt much more interest.

Should one of the rovers turn up evidence of ancient algal mats, such as remain from Earth's early history, it would be "a huge impetus for Mars missions."

If amazing material is found, "we will want to get some of that." A robotic rocket to return samples to Earth might be in the offing.

The rovers will be searching for signs of bodies of water, such as ancient riverbeds, where life may have arisen. Hartmann thinks the chances of evidence of life on Mars are 50-50.

But robotic explorers won't be the end of our involvement with the planet. Hartmann believes humans may be headed to Mars in person.