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摘要

When the Lunar and Planetary Sciences conference first met back in 1969 it was a historic occasion. It was the first time that astrobiologists had got together to discuss the rock samples the Apollo astronauts had brought back from the Moon. Thirty years on, a new generation of researchers gathered in Houston to plan how they would rerun their own version of the great lunar adventure―this time with rocks transported billions of miles back from Mars. Now that dream may never happen. Unearthing the Red Planet's secrets could, for the moment, prove impossible for two reasons. The first is simple: there just isn't enough money to fund such an audacious research programme. The second is more technical. The latest research suggests that getting people to Mars could be a lot more dangerous than anyone envisaged.