Planetary Protection

"Alien" Invasions And The Need For Planetary Biosecurity

The era of space exploration brings with it a new risk: invasion. The peril comes not from little green men arriving on flying saucers but, rather, from microbiological contamination of Earth from extraterrestrial environments and vice versa.

Less Restrictive 'Bioburden' Rules Would Make Some Mars Missions Simpler

A new report that could make it simpler to send spacecraft to some areas of Mars while still protecting the planet from Earth-based contamination was presented today at a press conference at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Amanda Hendrix.

Report: National Strategy for Planetary Protection

Today, the National Space Council released the National Strategy for Planetary Protection. This Strategy will advance the Nation's role in the sustainable exploration of space by appropriately protecting other planetary bodies and the Earth from potentially harmful biological contamination from space exploration activities.

Planetary protection refers to the policy and practice of protecting scientific investigations by limiting biological contamination of other planetary bodies and protecting the Earth's biosphere by avoiding harmful biological contamination by returning spacecraft. This national strategy balances U.S. interests in promoting scientific discovery, human exploration, and the growth of private sector space activities, all with due consideration for public safety and applicable domestic and international obligations.

Report: Planetary Protection for the Study of Lunar Volatiles

Under U.S. policy and international treaty, the goals of planetary protection are to avoid both adverse changes in Earth's environment caused by introducing extraterrestrial matter and harmful contamination of solar system bodies in order to protect their biological integrity for scientific study. The United States has long cooperated with other countries and relevant scientific communities through the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science in developing planetary protection guidance for different categories of space missions. In the past, achieving planetary protection objectives through science-based, international-consensus guidelines proved relatively straightforward because a small number of spacefaring nations explored the solar system, predominantly through government-led and scientifically focused robotic missions.

Assessment of the Report of NASA's Planetary Protection Independent Review Board

The goal of planetary protection is to control, to the degree possible, the biological cross-contamination of planetary bodies. Guidelines developed by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) are used by all spacefaring nations to guide their preparations for encounters with solar system bodies.

NASA's Planetary Protection Review Addresses Changing Reality of Space Exploration

NASA released a report Friday with recommendations from the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB) the agency established in response to a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report and a recommendation from the NASA Advisory Council. Full report: NASA Response to Planetary Protection Independent Review Board Recommendations

NASA to Discuss Planetary Protection Review's Findings and Recommendations

NASA will host a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 18, to discuss recommendations presented by the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB), established in June 2019 by Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

Absolute Prioritization of Planetary Protection, Safety, and Avoiding Imperialism in All Future Science Missions: A Policy Perspective

The prioritization and improvement of ethics, planetary protection, and safety standards in the astro-sciences is the most critical priority as our scientific and exploratory capabilities progress, both within government agencies and the private sector.

NASA's New Planetary Protection Board

Following National Academy of Sciences recommendations, advice from the NASA Advisory Council, and subsequent unanimous agreement from NASA's science leadership, the agency has established an independent Planetary Protection Review Board to review established guidelines for planetary protection and recommend any updates that are required.

Report: Strategic Investments in Instrumentation and Facilities for Extraterrestrial Sample Curation and Analysis

The United States possesses a treasure-trove of extraterrestrial samples that were returned to Earth via space missions over the past four decades. Analyses of these previously returned samples have led to major breakthroughs in the understanding of the age, composition, and origin of the solar system.

A New Level 3 Biosafety and Astrobiology Laboratory in Pieve a Nievole (PT)

We report our proposal for the establishment of a biocontainment and astrobiology laboratory in a strategic area of Pieve a Nievole (PT) at 28 mt above sea level - to face the lack of biological and astrobiological research centers and all the social, economic and cultural consequences that this project implicate.

Planetary Protection Classification of Sample-Return Missions from the Martian Moons

This report reviews recent theoretical, experimental, and modeling research on the environments and physical conditions encountered by Mars ejecta during certain processes. It recommends whether missions returning samples from Phobos and/or Deimos should be classified as "restricted" or "unrestricted" Earth return in the framework of the planetary protection policy maintained by COSPAR. This report also considers the specific ways the classification of sample return from Deimos is a different case than sample return from Phobos.

Space Station Microbes Should Be Monitored To Avoid Threat To Astronaut Health

Strains of the bacterium Enterobacter, similar to newly found opportunistic infectious organisms seen in a few hospital settings, have been identified on the International Space Station (ISS).

Report: Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes

Protecting Earth's environment and other solar system bodies from harmful contamination has been an important principle throughout the history of space exploration. For decades, the scientific, political, and economic conditions of space exploration converged in ways that contributed to effective development and implementation of planetary protection policies at national and international levels.

Report: Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes

The current process for planetary protection policy development is inadequate to respond to increasingly complex solar system exploration missions, says a new report.

Hardy Organisms Threaten Interplanetary Contamination

In professor George Fox's lab at the University of Houston, scientists are studying Earth germs that could be contaminating other planets.

Cleaning ExoMars 2020 Rover For Mars

A ground penetrating radar antenna for ESA's ExoMars 2020 rover being pre-cleaned in an ultra-cleanroom environment in preparation for its sterilisation process, in an effort to prevent terrestrial microbes coming along for the ride to the red planet.

The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report (2017)

Description: Solar system exploration is in an extraordinary state of expansion. Scientific capabilities to search for evidence of extant or relic life outside Earth--among the principal goals of solar system exploration--are advancing rapidly.

The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report

In this time of rapid transition in exploring solar system bodies, the importance of reexamining planetary protection policies, including the need for clarity in how NASA establishes such policies, has become more urgent.

Planetary Protection For Human Missions to Mars

Since the dawn of space travel, nations from around the world have shown a commitment to protecting objects in the Solar System from contamination carried from the Earth and into space by spacecraft.