National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

The Goals, Rationales, and Definition
of Planetary Protection

Interim Report

Committee to Review the Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes

Space Studies Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

A Consensus Study Report of

images

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS500 Fifth Street, NWWashington, DC 20001

This study is based on work supported by the Contract No. NNH17CB02B with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any agency or organization that provided support for the project.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24809

Copies of this report are available free of charge from:

Space Studies Board
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Copyright 2017 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24809.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

Image

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

Image

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE PLANETARY PROTECTION POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES

JOSEPH K. ALEXANDER, Alexander Space Policy Consultants, Chair

JOHN R. CASANI,1 NAE,2 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (retired)

DAVID P. FIDLER, Indiana University

JOANNE I. GABRYNOWICZ, University of Mississippi

G. SCOTT HUBBARD, Stanford University

EUGENE H. LEVY, Rice University

NORINE NOONAN, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

KENNETH OLDEN, Environmental Protection Agency (retired)

FRANCOIS RAULIN, University of Paris Est Créteil

GARY RUVKUN, NAS3/NAM,4 Harvard Medical School

MARK P. SAUNDERS, NASA (retired)

BETH A. SIMMONS, NAS, University of Pennsylvania

PERICLES D. STABEKIS, Independent Consultant

ANDREW STEELE, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Staff

DAVID H. SMITH, Study Director, Space Studies Board

MIA BROWN, Research Associate, Space Studies Board

ANDREA REBHOLZ, Program Coordinator, Space Studies Board

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director, Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board.

___________________

1 Joined the committee on June 29, 2017.

2 Member, National Academy of Engineering.

3 Member, National Academy of Sciences.

4 Member, National Academy of Medicine.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

SPACE STUDIES BOARD

FIONA HARRISON, NAS, California Institute of Technology, Chair

ROBERT D. BRAUN, NAE, University of Colorado Boulder, Vice Chair

DAVID N. SPERGEL, NAS, Princeton University and Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Simons Foundation, Vice Chair

JAMES G. ANDERSON, NAS, Harvard University

JEFF M. BINGHAM, Consultant

JAY C. BUCKEY, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

MARY LYNNE DITTMAR, Dittmar Associates

JOSEPH FULLER, JR., Futron Corporation

THOMAS R. GAVIN, California Institute of Technology

SARAH GIBSON, National Center for Atmospheric Research

WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, Carnegie Institution of Washington

ANTHONY C. JANETOS, Boston University

CHRYSSA KOUVELIOTOU, NAS, George Washington University

DENNIS P. LETTENMAIER, NAE, University of California, Los Angeles

ROSALY M. LOPES, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

DAVID J. MCCOMAS, Princeton University

LARRY PAXTON, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

SAUL PERLMUTTER, NAS, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

ELIOT QUATAERT, University of California, Berkeley

BARBARA SHERWOOD LOLLAR, University of Toronto

HARLAN E. SPENCE, University of New Hampshire

MARK H. THIEMENS, NAS, University of California, San Diego

MEENAKSHI WADHWA, Arizona State University

MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director

CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Administrative Coordinator

TANJA E. PILZAK, Manager, Program Operations

CELESTE A. NAYLOR, Information Management Associate

MEG A. KNEMEYER, Financial Officer

SU LIU, Senior Financial Officer

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Jack Barengoltz, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (retired),

Steven J. Battel, NAE,1 Battel Engineering, Inc.,

Athena Coustenis, Paris Observatory,

Michael Ettenberg, NAE, Dolce Technologies,

Victoria E. Hamilton, Southwest Research Institute,

Ram Jakhu, McGill University,

Gerhard Schwehm, European Space Agency (retired), and

Norman H. Sleep, NAS,2 Stanford University.

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Lennard A. Fisk, NAS, University of Michigan. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

___________________

1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.

2 Member, National Academy of Sciences.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

Preface

In 2016, NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate John Grunsfeld asked the Space Studies Board to review the current state of planetary protection policy development, assess the responsiveness of the policy development process to contemporary and anticipated needs, and recommend actions that might assure the effectiveness of NASA’s future coordination and execution of planetary protection. (See Appendix A for the full task statement for this study.)

In December 2016, Dr. Grunsfeld’s successor, Thomas Zurbuchen, asked the ad hoc Committee to Review the Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes to prepare an interim report as soon as possible before the full study is completed. Dr. Zurbuchen wanted the interim report to address the goals of and rationales for planetary protection policies and suggest a working definition of planetary protection consistent with those goals. The statement of task for the interim report is at the end of Appendix A.

The study committee (see Appendix B for biographies of the committee members) held its first meeting on March 7-9, 2017, and devoted the meeting to preparing this interim report. (See Appendix C for the full meeting agenda.) Given the short time available to produce the interim report, the committee focused exclusively on planetary protection as it applies to U.S. government-sponsored, robotic, scientific missions. This interim report does not address future commercial planetary missions, human missions to planetary bodies, or roles and responsibilities for implementing policies, but the committee will address those issues in its final report.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/24809.
×
Page R12
Next: 1 Introduction »
The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report Get This Book
×
Buy Ebook | $9.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Solar system exploration is in an extraordinary state of expansion. Scientific capabilities to search for evidence of extant or relic life outside Earth—among the principal goals of solar system exploration—are advancing rapidly. In this time of rapid transition in exploring solar system bodies, the importance of reexamining planetary protection policies, including the need for clarity in how NASA establishes such policies, has become more urgent. Overall, this study seeks to review the current state of planetary protection policy development, assess the responsiveness of the policy development process to contemporary and anticipated needs, and recommend actions that might assure the effectiveness of NASA’s future coordination and execution of planetary protection. This interim report focuses on the goals of and rationales for planetary protection policies and suggests a working definition of planetary protection consistent with those goals. It does not address future commercial planetary missions, human missions to planetary bodies, or roles and responsibilities for implementing policies, but these issues will be addressed in the final report.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!