Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars (2006) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 11-21
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From page 11... ...
The scientific community and NASA have thereby endorsed the investigation of the hypothesis that life may exist on Mars or may have existed previously, and they have made testing this hypothesis one of Mars exploration's primary goals.1 As stated in NASA's Mars exploration strategy, "NASA is currently pursuing an aggressive, science-driven agenda of robotic exploration of Mars, with the aim of concluding the current decade of research with the first landed analytical laboratory on the martian surface since the Viking missions of the 1970s. This mobile science laboratory will propel Mars exploration into the next decade for which the search for evidence of biological activity is the ultimate goal" (MSPSG, 2004, p.
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From page 12... ...
26) , which affirms that the search for extraterrestrial life is an important objective of space research, that the planet of Mars may offer the only feasible opportunity to conduct this search during the foreseeable future, that contamination of this planet would make such a search far more difficult and possibly even prevent for all time an unequivocal result, that all practical steps should be taken to ensure that Mars be not biologically contaminated until such time as this search can have been satisfactorily carried out, and that cooperation in proper scheduling of experiments and use of adequate spacecraft sterilization techniques is required on the part of all deep space probe launching authorities to avoid such contamination.
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From page 13... ...
A policy review of the Outer Space Treaty concluded that, while Article IX "imposed international obligations on all state parties to protect and preserve the environmental integrity of outer space and celestial bodies such as Mars," there is no definition as to what constitutes harmful contamination, nor does the treaty specify under what circumstances it would be necessary to "adopt appropriate measures" or which measures would in fact be "appropriate" (Goh and Kazeminejad, 2004, p.
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From page 14... ...
Exploration," which set the goal of human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and the solar system.9 That vision underscored the importance of the Mars robotic program as a testbed for demonstrating technological capabilities that are "key to enabling future human Mars missions." Although the committee's charge focuses on preventing forward contamination of Mars by varied future spacecraft missions and activities, "including orbiters, atmospheric missions, landers, penetrators, and drills,"10 upcoming exploration by human missions seems likely in light of the national vision for space exploration put forth by President Bush and the subsequent Moon-Mars initiative (President's Commission, 2004; NASA, 2004)
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From page 15... ...
-- have addressed human missions to Mars and have concluded that information from precursor robotic missions is critical for planning safe, productive human missions that will have a minimal impact on Mars. In anticipating the long-term potential for expansion of human activities on Mars, it may be prudent to consider forward contamination policies in the context of analogous policies for sensitive environments on Earth, such as the international treaty governing Antarctica.11 Like the Outer Space Treaty, the Antarctic Treaty calls for peaceful use for humanity, freedom of scientific investigations, and international cooperation.
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From page 16... ...
PAST DELIVERY OF MICROORGANISMS TO MARS The committee considered the implications for planetary protection requirements of past natural and missionassociated delivery of Earth microorganisms to Mars. An extreme viewpoint would be that because some past missions have already likely delivered significant quantities of microorganisms to Mars, and because Mars experiences substantial windblown transport of dust, there is no longer any point in continuing planetary protection practices.
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From page 17... ...
Missions that have crashed on the martian surface, such as the Mars Polar Lander mission launched in 1999, are likely not only to have exposed the martian environment to some interior surfaces, but also to have released some of their embedded bioburden, due to ruptures in spacecraft materials. The likelihood of past delivery of spacecraft microbial material to Mars does not vitiate ongoing planetary protection measures.
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From page 18... ...
18 PREVENTING THE FORWARD CONTAMINATION OF MARS TABLE 1.1 History of Successes and Failures of Mars Missions Mission Outcome Mission Type Country Launch Date Success Failure Comments Unnamed Mars Mission Flyby USSR 10-24-62 X Interplanetary stage failure; main engine turbopump exploded Mars 1 Flyby USSR 11-01-62 X Lost in space due to antenna pointing problem Sputnik 24 Flyby USSR 11-04-62 X Launch sequence failure Mariner 3 Flyby USA 11-05-64 X Launch sequence failure Mariner 4 Flyby USA 11-28-64 X Zond 2 Flyby USSR 11-30-64 X Flew by Mars without returning any data Mariner 6 Flyby USA 02-24-69 X Mariner 7 Flyby USA 03-27-69 X Unnamed Mars Mission Orbiter USSR 03-27-69 X Proton third-stage failure Unnamed Mars Mission Orbiter USSR 04-02-69 X Proton first-stage failure Mariner 8 Orbiter USA 05-08-71 X Launch sequence failure Kosmos 419 Orbiter USSR 05-10-71 X Upper stage failure Mars 2 Orbiter/Lander USSR 05-19-71 X Successful entry, descent, landing (EDL) , but crash landed without returning any data Mars 3 Orbiter/Lander USSR 05-28-71 X Descent module instruments transmitted for 20 seconds after landing; then ceased transmitting Mariner 9 Orbiter USA 05-30-71 X Mars 4 Orbiter/Lander USSR 07-21-73 X Flew past Mars due to orbit rocket failure Mars 5 Orbiter/Lander USSR 07-25-73 X Entered orbit but failed several days later Mars 6 Orbiter/Lander USSR 08-05-73 X Successful EDL but failed with terminal rocket ignition Mars 7 Orbiter/Lander USSR 08-09-73 X Failed due to pre-Mars separation of orbiter and lander Viking Orbiter 1 Orbiter USA 08-20-75 X Viking Lander 1 Lander USA 08-20-75 X Viking Orbiter 2 Orbiter USA 09-09-75 X Viking Lander 2 Lander USA 09-09-75 X Mars Observer Orbiter USA 09-25-92 X Probable failure of propellant line due to hypergolic propellant contamination Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter USA 11-07-96 X Mars '96 Orbiter/Landers/ USSR 11-17-96 X Launch sequence failure Penetrators Mars Pathfinder Lander/Rover USA 12-04-96 X Mars Climate Orbiter Orbiter USA 12-11-98 X Disintegrated in the atmosphere due to navigation error Mars Polar Lander Lander USA 01-03-99 X Crashed due to premature shutdown of retrorocket engines Mars DS-2 Penetrator USA 01-03-99 X Unknown EDL failures; surface (renamed Amundsen)
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From page 19... ...
Moreover, because windblown dust particles on Mars have diameters in the range of 1 to 2 microns, transport via dust particles is also likely to lead to rapid death, and so windblown transport of microorganisms on Mars seems unlikely to contaminate distant parts of Mars. 13The committee called this the "Smokey the Bear" argument for ongoing planetary protection.
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From page 20... ...
Based largely on Mars exploration missions to date, scientific understanding of Mars and the prospects for liquid water and potentially habitable environments there is evolving rapidly. Questions regarding the environments and conditions in which liquid water may be present on Mars, which are discussed in Chapter 4, are central to the prospects for and potential habitats of life on Mars, as well as the prospects for forward contamination.
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From page 21... ...
2004. Narrative: Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.
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