As focus for exploration of Mars transitions from current robotic explorers to development of crewed missions, it remains important to protect the integrity of scientific investigations at Mars, as well […]
Planetary protection guidance for martian exploration has become a notable point of discussion over the last decade.
Microorganisms can have major impacts on the success of NASA’s missions, including the integrity of materials, the protection of extraterrestrial environments, the reliability of scientific results, and maintenance of crew […]
The McMurdo Dry Valleys may harbor diverse surface microbial communities, yet little is known about subsurface microorganisms in permafrost and their potential for paleoecological reconstruction.
Space missions or spacecraft equipment destined for sensitive environments, such as Mars, Europa, or Enceladus, are required to be designed to avoid forward contamination.
This chapter attempts to encompass and tackle a large problem in Astrovirology and Astrobiology. There is a huge anthropomorphic prejudice that although life is unlikely, the just-right Goldilocks terrestrial conditions […]
Shown here is an annotated composite image of the interiors of the 33 tubes NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has used to collect samples as of July 24, 2025, the 1,574th […]
Work has begun to design and build a Double-Walled Isolator (DWI), akin to an ultra-clean miniature laboratory to safely store and analyse extra-terrestrial materials, such as the first material from […]
We reconsider the problem of planetary protection using, by the analogy of planets as islands, the theory of island biogeography.
The fact that life-pastor present-has not been detected on Mars does not mean that it does not exist there. Indeed, the article is quite precise in highlighting that “a special […]
