Missions to Mars have only scratched its surface. To go deeper, scientists are proposing a spacecraft that can drill into the Red Planet to potentially find signs of life.
Sample Return
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA Policy Directive: NPD 8020.7G Biological Contamination Control for Outbound and Inbound Planetary Spacecraft
NPD 8020.7GEffective Date: February 19, 1999Expiration Date: February 19, 2018 Subject: Biological Contamination Control for Outbound and Inbound PlanetarySpacecraft (Revalidated 05/17/13 w/change 1)
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Policy, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA Policy Instruction NASA Policy on Planetary Protection Requirements for Human Extraterrestrial Missions – NPI 8020.7 – NPD 8020.7G
In May 2012, the Planetary Protection Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee formulated a recommendation that NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) be developed for planetary protection on human […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return
3/29 NAI Director’s Seminar: Don Brownlee, "Comets and the Early Solar System – Results from the Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission"
Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission” Join us for the next NAI Director’s Seminar! Date/Time: Monday, March 29, 2010 11:00AM PacificSpeaker: Don Brownlee (University of Washington), PI of Stardust MissionTitle: “Comets […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
Stardust Preliminary Findings: NASA Astrophysicist Scott Sandford (Transcript and Podcast)
Jesse Carpenter: NASA study finds new kind of organics in Stardust mission samples. Hi, I’m Jesse Carpenter and you’re listening to a podcast presented in three parts from the NASA […]
Posted inMapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA MEPAG Report: Science Analysis of the November 3, 2005 Version of the Draft Mars Exploration Program Plan
Prepared by the MEPAG ‘2005 Mars Program Plan Science Analysis Group’
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Sample Return, Status Report
Determinative Mineralogy: An essential component of Planetary Exploration – Decadal White Paper of the Extraterrestrial Mineralogy Panel
INTRODUCTION Our existing knowledge of extraterrestrial mineralogy has been gained largely from analyses of returned or collected samples — returned samples and collected meteorites from the Moon, meteorites from Mars, […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrogeology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return
A Year of Mars News: It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.
Mars Disappoints A little over a year ago NASA was poised on the cusp of a new phase in its exploration of Mars. A new sophisticated orbiter was ready to […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Policy, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA Policy Directive: NPD 8020.7E Biological Contamination Control for Outbound and Inbound Planetary Spacecraft
POLICY DIRECTIVEDirective: NPD 8020.7EEffective Date: February 19, 1999Expiration Date: February 19, 2004Responsible Office: S /Office of Space Science
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report
The Antarctic Dry Valley Lakes: Relevance To Mars
The similarity of the early environments of Mars and Earth, and the biological evolution which occurred on early Earth, motivates exobiologists to seriously consider the possibility of an early Martian […]