Planetary protection issues and human exploration of Mars

Details Planetary protection issues and human exploration of Mars Planetary protection issues and human exploration of Mars

Oct 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991ceol.symp...99d&link_type=abstract

In NASA, Washington, Fourth Symposium on Chemical Evolution and the Origin and Evolution of Life p 99 (SEE N92-13588 04-55)

Biology

Contamination, Earth Environment, Environment Protection, Exobiology, Extraterrestrial Life, Manned Mars Missions, Mars Environment, Microorganisms, Regulations, Aerospace Safety, International Cooperation, Law (Jurisprudence), Mars (Planet), Mars Surface Samples, Public Relations, Safety Management

Scientific paper

A key feature of the Space Exploration Initiative involves human missions to Mars. The report describing the initiative cites the search for life on Mars, extant or extinct, as one of the five science themes for such an endeavor. Because of this, concerns for planetary protection (PP) have arisen of two fronts: (1) forward contamination of Mars by spacecraft-borne terrestrial microbes which could interfere with exobiological analyses; and (2) back contamination of Earth by species that may be present in returned Mars samples. The United States is also signatory to an international treaty designed to protect Earth and planets from harmful cross-contamination during exploration. Therefore, it is timely to assess the necessity for, and impact of, PP procedures on the mission set comprising the human exploration of Mars. The ground-rules adopted at a recent workshop which addressed PP questions of this type are presented. In addition, the workshop produced several recommendations for dealing with forward and back contamination concerns for non-scientific perspectives, including public relations, legal, regulatory, international, and environmental.

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