Debris on Mars comes from three main sources: discarded equipment, inactive space debris
There are currently nine inactive ones on Marsspacecraft: the Mars 3, Mars 6, Viking 1, Viking 2, Phoenix landers, the Sojourner and Spirit rovers, the previously lost Beagle 2 lander, and the recently lost Opportunity spacecraft. These are mostly intact objects and can be considered historical relics rather than trash.
It's a different matter when it comes to space partsships. For example, in July 2021, Perseverance dropped a drill bit to the surface, allowing it to replace it with a new, untouched bit so it could continue collecting samples.
Also, at least two spacecraft have crashed in recent decades, and four more have lost contact before or immediately after landing.
Over the years, researchers have found a lot of small windblown debris, such as newly discovered mesh material and a large, shiny thermal blanket stuck in the rocks.
If you add up the mass of all spacecraft,ever sent to Mars, that would be about 9,979 kg. If you subtract the weight of the currently operating spacecraft on the surface—2,860 kg—you are left with 7,119 kg of debris on Mars.
Scientists are very concerned about the garbage on Mars, it is dangerousfor current and future missions. Perseverance teams are documenting all the debris they find and checking to see if any of it could contaminate the samples the rover collects or interfere with its movement. Thus, both Curiosity in 2012 and Opportunity in 2005 encountered debris from their landers.
In addition, spacecraft and their parts are the first milestones in human planetary exploration.
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Cover photo: Heat shield and spring left over from missions to Mars. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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