NASA is seeking public comments on a draft environmental impact statement for the agency’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. Comments are due by Monday, Dec. 19.
Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Posted inMars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
National Environmental Policy Act – NASA Mars Sample Return Campaign
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)] [Notices] [Pages 66751-66754] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2022-24065]
Posted inMars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Radiation, Sample Return
Microbial Survivability Of Ionizing Radiation On Mars: Considerations For Sample Return
As the goals of Mars exploration expand to include sample return, it becomes important to protect Earth from potential extraterrestrial sources of contamination.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Ancient Bacteria Might Lurk Beneath Mars’ Surface
When Mars’ first samples return to Earth, scientists should be on the lookout for ancient sleeping bacteria, a new study has found.
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Planetary Protection Considerations For Missions to Solar System Small Bodies
The ultimate goal of planetary protection for outbound missions is to prevent harmful contamination that would inhibit future measurements designed to search for evidence of the existence or evolution of […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Mapping Mars Perseverance Rover’s First Six Samples
This annotated map shows the locations where NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover collected its first witness tube and filled its first six samples.
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
"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 […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
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 […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
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 […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
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 […]