Chris Carberry 'We've never landed something like this on Mars'

All About Space catches up with Chris Carberry, cofounder of Explore Mars Inc, about plans to land humans on Mars' moon Phobos

- Jonathan O'Callaghan

BIO+ Chris Carberry

Carberry is CEO and co-founder of Explore Mars Inc, a nonprofit organization which was created to advance the goal of sending humans to Mars within the next two decades. Previously, Carberry served as executive director of The Mars Society. He is also the author of science-fiction novel Celestial Pursuits: In the Hub of the Universe.

Why would you choose to go to Mars' moon Phobos rather than directly to Mars?

This plan is just a concept. It is US policy right now to go to Mars and to the surface of Mars at some point in the 2030s. However, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) came out with a plan in which they decided that it might be useful to have a manned precursor mission to Mars orbit first, and in particular go to Phobos and test out key technologies before using it as a stepping stone to Mars.

What key technologies still need testing?

When mission designers talk about the biggest problems in getting to Mars, the two items that keep cropping up are usually life-support technology to keep the astronauts alive and entry, descent, and landing (EDL). In other words, keeping the astronauts breathing and making sure they don't crash! They figure that by going to Phobos first they can reduce the risk by testing out some of the key elements, particularly the life-support systems.

What is complicated about landing craft on Mars?