Planetary Protection Debate

Planetary Protection Debate

1. Forward Contamination

   • Life detection experiments
     • Need to protect from Earth brought organisms

2. Backward Contamination

3. Backward Contamination

   • Already 500kg/yr Martian rock reaching Earth
     • Allen Hills meteoroids
       • Still subject to debate
       • Was studies a lot
       • parts of meteoroids never reached above 40°C
         • Orgaism could have survived the trip
     • No planetary protection for these elements
   • Distorting and adding complexity entire MSR mission architecture
     • multiple rendez-vous
     • break the chain
     • Propellant budget
   • Reduce science potential
     • Analysis by astronaut, not scientists
     • No state-of-the equipment in gateway
     • Less repeatability and reproducibility of analyses
     • Less experiments and tests performed by creative scientists
   • If there was microbial life on Mars
     • Can it be pathogen ? (see more at 14:00)
       • No
         • No macrofaurna on Mars
         • No microflora on Mars
         • Not possible to design a life cycle for such parasitic pathogenic organism on Mars because the host for such thing does not exist

4. Forward Contamination

   • Location close to curiosity rover good candidate for life
     • Curiosity prevented to go there

5. There is no life on Mars Surface (in sub-surface possible)

   • UV
     • Sterling
   • Perchlorate
     • Sterling
   • No liquid water the surface
   • Extreme saline solution (sterile)
   • Oxidizing compounds