Mars is littered with 15,694 pounds of human trash from 50 years of robotic exploration

Rovers on Mars frequently come across debris – like this heat shield and spring – from their own or other missions. NASA/JPL-Caltech

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People have been exploring the surface of Mars for over 50 years. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, nations have sent 18 human-made objects to Mars over 14 separate missions. Many of these missions are still ongoing, but over the decades of Martian exploration, humankind has left behind many pieces of debris on the planet’s surface.