The standard areological (study of the geology of Mars) fieldwork methodology devised before, during and after the first mission to Mars. It is mostly referred to as ‘the Protocol’. It was devised, among others, by John Howard and Boris Tope, the two areologists of ‘The First’. The methodology uses a communication and data gathering system involving the areologists in the field, rovers, a control room and a number of orbiting satellites, including an areostationary satellite. A prototype of the system was first tested on the Moon, during the Apollo 20 mission.

Fieldwork on Mars has many similarities with geological fieldwork on Earth, but there are of course some major differences. These all have to do with freedom of mobility. A feeling of liberty is very important to a geologist. On Mars the sense of ‘presence’ is obscured, because of the pressure suits. You cannot feel the rocks in the field. This means it will take a special breed of geologists wanting to work inside a suit. A lot of geologists see the outdoor experience as the most important part of their job.

As on Earth, fieldwork is performed in pares. But on Mars, a third person always has to remain indoor. He or she monitors the areologists in the field, controls the areostationary satellite(s) and directs the data acquisition. He or she uses the gathered data to create a GIS (Geographical Information System) database, the Realtime Areological Mapping SYStem [RAMSYS]. The areologists in the field can display the maps of this database.

Rovers perform a large amount of the fieldwork. They can be used as autonomous robotic areologists or as handy areologist sidekicks. The latter perform precise measurements, when the gloves of the pressure suits are too big for manual measuring. The rover sidekick is radio controlled and has a variety of automated functions:
1. Measuring strike and dip of layers using a robotic arm.
2. A magnifying glass with camera measures rock texture, which can be displayed inside the areologists helmets.
3. The rover can go to hard to reach or dangerous places and sends back visuals to the areologists.
4. A sanding machine to polish stones for better observation of structures.
5. Chemical analysis devices.
6. It contains a computer and communication systems.

The rover sidekick however has a limited speed. For safety reasons this is very useful, increasing the awareness of the areologists in the field. This protocol has become a standard and all areologists on Mars either working for companies or for the Mars Science Institute use the methodology.