Report Series: Committee on Planetary Protection Evaluation of Bioburden Requirements for Mars Missions (2021) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 5-10
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Countries codified the two principles of planetary protection as international law in the Outer Space Treaty in 1967. Article IX of the treaty provides that, in space activities involving solar system bodies, states parties shall "conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of Earth, resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose."1 Throughout most of the history of solar system exploration, NASA and COSPAR have based planetary protection policies on scientific reviews by the Space Studies Board (SSB)
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The number of governmental space agencies planning, participating in, and undertaking missions to Mars has increased significantly and now includes China, the European Space Agency, India, Japan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. For the first time, two nations -- China and the United States -- are operating rovers on the Martian surface.
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This SSB report reviewed current scientific knowledge about Mars, the history of planetary protection policy for Mars missions, scientific understanding of the survival of terrestrial organisms in extreme environments, and techniques for life detection and spacecraft decontamination, and it recommended a strategy for adapting Mars planetary protection approaches to respond to new scientific and technological advances (NRC 2006)
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This SSB report considered scientific findings from robotic missions conducted between 1997 and 2006. It recommended a research and exploration strategy to guide the study of "potential targets for Mars exploration particularly suited for elucidating the prebiotic and possibly biotic history of Mars, and methods for identifying these targets" (NRC 2007)
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the Outer Space Treaty is the international foundation for planetary protection; (3) that COSPAR is a recognized international coordination forum for planetary protection standards; and (4)
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This report responds to NASA's request for a study to identify criteria for determining locations or regions on Mars that are potentially suitable for missions of less restrictive bioburden than the current requirements for Category IV.8 The report is based on briefings and discussions during the committee's six virtual open meetings in March through June 2021 and the committee's review of publicly available material. In Chapter 2, the committee briefly considers the scientific priority of astrobiological studies at Mars and the consequent importance of planetary protection.
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