A new study supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute suggests that the possibility of life being transferred from the inner solar system to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, although […]
planetary protection
Posted inMars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Planetary Protection: Preventing Microbial Hitchhiking
While astronauts might dream of discovering unknown life one day in their future career, ESA’s Planetary Protection Officer oversees activities that achieve it on a regular basis. As part of […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Rare New Microbe Found in Two Distant Clean Rooms
A rare, recently discovered microbe that survives on very little to eat has been found in two places on Earth: spacecraft clean rooms in Florida and South America. Image: This […]
Posted inMars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Sterilized Mars Spacecraft Largely a Waste of Money
Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, astrobiologists Alberto Fairen of Cornell University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University say the NASA Office of Planetary Protection’s “detailed and expensive” efforts […]
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, 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 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 inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Space Stations
Orbiting Quarantine Facility. The Antaeus Report (NASA-SP-454 – 1981)
A systems design study group jointly sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Education, Stanford University and NASA’s Ames Research Center, was requested to develop a design for an orbiting […]