And scattered about... were the Martiansdead! slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unpre- pared; slain as the red weed was being slain; slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth....By virtue of this natural selection of our kind we have developed resisting power; to no germs do we succumb without a struggle... H.G. WellsOrson Welles What is Planetary Protection? 1 Planetary Protection 2 And can cause problems... Life on Earth is Everywhere Up to 10 7 cells/g in 60m depth, with metabolic activity down to -20C Cryptoendoliths Desulforudis audaxviator Salmonella typhimurium express more virulence genes after cultured in space ? ? Microbes on cheese can grow on Mars... Previous Considerations 2002 Safe on Mars report from US-NRC Series of workshops sponsored by NASA and ESA to continue requirements refinement Consensus requirements forwarded to COSPAR: approved in 2008 Because NASA has not allocated risk factors and reliability requirements for missions beyond Earth orbit, it should establish risk standards necessary to provide preliminary guidance to Mars mission planners and hardware designers. Culturable microbes All microbes Heat-resistant microbes Heat-resistant microbes growing on TSA Kill these! Viking Approach Subsystem Heat Reduction Biobarrier for Arm 1970s 2000s All Others Die Mars Phoenix Mars Pathfinder s MERs Avoiding Cross-Contamination Warning: The Planetary Protection Officer has determined that drilling may be hazardous to your health and your future ability to return to Earth. Warning: The Safe Zones ? Future: Robotic/Teleoperation Human Traverse Zone 2b Characterized but with some controls Assay #1 Assay #2 Zone 2a- Safe Cleared Zone 1- Habitats 1, 2a Safe Zone (determined from precursor missions; may be a majority of the surface) Zone 3 Uncharacterized w/Controls 2b, 3 Special Regions defined from remote sensing and ground data Clean Rover Site Hab Lab 5 Basic Motivation Human Exploration Systems Understanding of facts informs future developments Protect the Earth Preserve Human Interests on Mars Phased Approach: Be careful early; tailor later constraints using knowledge gained Humans have many interests at Mars; understanding potential hazards supports all of them Searching for Mars life becomes more difficult, the more Earth contamination is introduced Future colonization could be challenged, if unwanted Earth invasive species are introduced e.g.: Blocking aquifers Consuming resources Interfering with planned introductions Planetary Protection Policy (Outer Space Treaty): Protect the Earth, Avoid Harmful Contamination Adding humans, policy has the same intentbut different implementation Robotic Exploration Early Human Exploration Future Use We Are Here... Planetary Protection for Humans on Mars Questions?