{"id":908,"date":"2025-09-08T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T06:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=908"},"modified":"2025-06-08T11:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T09:29:39","slug":"why-planetary-protection-matters-to-the-future-of-space-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=908","title":{"rendered":"Why planetary protection matters to the future of space exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dylan Taylor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The hiker\u2019s motto you often hear cited when it comes to dealing with forays into the wilderness is, \u201cleave only footprints, take only memories.\u201d As humanity spreads outward into space we need to try and adopt something similar \u2014perhaps adding, \u201ctake only memories, readings, and bring back a few samples.\u201d We are moving outward to study worlds beyond our own. As such, it behooves us to do our best to not alter the very thing that we have gone out to study\u2014if studying these places is why we go there in the first place, which it is.<\/p>\n

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When humanity heads to Mars and beyond in this and future centuries, we can\u2019t just leave biohazards in a crater, however well contained. Forever is a long time.<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Inevitably our space droids will break down and human astronauts will need to come home. Inevitably things will be left behind. Ideally, we leave behind things to further our studies. If weight and mission requirements call for leaving things behind, we should do so in the most responsible fashion possible. One thing in particular that we want to avoid doing is leaving terrestrial life behind.<\/p>\n

Our record thus far has been rather good. Mars has lots of robots; some operating, others silent. With the possible exception of a few early Soviet probes, all others were sterilized before leaving Earth. The Moon is a somewhat different story. Half a century ago no one really thought there would be life there, and so far that is the prevailing assumption. The Apollo missions were barebones and a lot of things needed for human surface activities were left behind. Some things were crashed to create lunar quakes, which we then measured. Little if any sterilization of this hardware was done since the thinking at the time was that it was not necessary.<\/p>\n

The catalog of human debris on the Moon ranges from the obvious (transport vehicles and tools) to the curious (golf balls, a feather, and a hammer<\/a>) to the potentially hazardous. Strewn among the 400,000 pounds of lunar detritus are 96 bags of human waste. Some suggest\u00a0we should check on them when we return<\/a>. Why check? One obvious reason is to see what half a century of \u00b1200-degree temperature swings and brutal ultraviolet radiation from the Sun does to them. Second while it is only theoretical, some thought has been given to what these extreme conditions might do to the microorganisms that were in the waste bags when they were left behind. Given the absurd extremes that some life forms on Earth thrive in, who knows what happened inside those bags. The astrobiology folks want to know.<\/p>\n

Curiosity and 1960s mindsets aside, when humanity heads to Mars and beyond in this and future centuries, we can\u2019t just leave biohazards in a crater, however well contained. Forever is a long time. And if the contents of waste bags\u2014alive or inert\u2014can affect the visited world after the container breaks down, well, that\u2019s not why we went there. We\u2019ll need a better way. The concept is called \u201cplanetary protection\u201d. If you are a Star Trek fan this is the one of the precursors for the \u201cPrime Directive\u201d.<\/p>\n

As is the case in our crowded, polluted, and rapidly warming world, we have stopped to ponder the wisdom of many of our prior decisions. As is the case with how we try to deal with our home planet, many people now ask how we could go to space responsibly. Planetary protection arose in the 1960s to protect the places we visit from earthly or \u201cforward\u201d contamination. It also embodied an approach for how to handle samples that we return to Earth to prevent \u201cback contamination\u201d.<\/p>\n

The\u00a01967 Outer Space Treaty<\/a>\u00a0requires nations to bear responsibility for their space activities and to avoid \u201charmful contamination\u201d of celestial bodies. Since then, every space mission presumably has included measures to prevent such incidents. Yet today, some space stakeholders view the planetary protection model as an antique. Some feel that planetary protection, as currently applied, needs comprehensive international guidelines. Some people claim that current requirements could constrain the private sector. Taking concerns further, some people claim that the status quo of how we deal with preventing forward contamination could\u00a0might even prevent humans from walking on Mars<\/a>. Whether or not to debate these concerns and fears is a moot point. It\u2019s a debate already underway in earnest.<\/p>\n

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The point in observing planetary protection\u00a0today\u00a0is that we are specifically looking for things on Mars that could possibly have existing life or evidence of past life. These signals and chemical structures are likely to be very fragile and can easily be contaminated by a single breath from a human researcher.<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover is collecting samples in part to see if life has existed there. NASA plans to return those samples back to Earth as part of the\u00a0Mars Sample Return program<\/a>\u00a0as soon as the early 2030s. The full array of planetary protection protocols is being observed, including how they are handled on Earth. Already, missions have brought back samples from comets and asteroids, so we have had practice in operating under these restrictions. So far they have all worked perfectly.<\/p>\n

Some skeptics would counter that If\u00a0at least 175 meteorites from Mars<\/a>\u00a0have struck Earth (that we know of), why should we worry now about bringing home rocks from Mars? Given the transit times between worlds\u2014millions of years of intense solar exposure and high heat during atmospheric entry, among other factors\u2014the probability that anything alive would survive is low, but not zero. The point in observing planetary protection\u00a0today<\/i>\u00a0is that we are specifically looking for things on Mars that could possibly have existing life or evidence of past life. These signals and chemical structures are likely to be very fragile and can easily be contaminated by a single breath from a human researcher. Planetary protection also serves science as well as our ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The need for planetary protection policy<\/h3>\n

Andy Spry, a senior scientist at the SETI Institute,\u00a0framed planetary protection<\/a>\u00a0like dental hygiene: \u201cIt\u2019s there, it\u2019s inconvenient, but it\u2019s really good to do.\u201d Of course, planetary protection policies require constant updates. We developed them in the 1960s largely to address robotic exploration of other worlds. Landing humans on Mars wasn\u2019t part of conversational reality then as it is now. Indeed,\u00a0a recent SpaceNews op-ed<\/a>\u00a0made this point: \u201cUnder existing policies, no human mission would be allowed to venture to the surface of Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aware of knowledge gaps, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine\u00a0recommended in 201<\/a>8 that NASA update its planetary protection policies. NASA responded with\u00a0a series of interim directives<\/a>\u00a0to support crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA acknowledged the broad scope of these documents but determined they were necessary to release as framework guidelines. NASA also sought to confirm that planetary protection and human exploration of other worlds are compatible.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanetary protection does not say that humans cannot go to Mars,\u201d Elaine Seasly, NASA\u2019s Deputy Planetary Protection Officer, said\u00a0in a presentation<\/a>\u00a0to Penn State\u2019s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. \u201cWe\u2019re saying, \u2018Yes, humans can go if we can monitor and manage contamination correctly.\u2019 We\u2019re shifting what we did with robotics in controlling contamination to managing and monitoring for crewed missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planetary protection issues to resolve<\/h3>\n

As more nations and commercial enterprises launch space programs, updated planetary protection policies are required. Three areas of interest involve international commitment, commercial space exploration, and new technologies.<\/p>\n

An international commitment to transparency<\/h4>\n

More than 110 countries have signed and ratified\u00a0the Outer Space Treaty<\/a>. The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) provides the most comprehensive international guidelines for planetary protection. Though most countries do, no country is legally required by these international treaties to adhere to the treaty or follow COSPAR\u2019s recommendations. That leaves room for potential bad actors. \u201cMy concerns relate to China and Russia, who participate in a robust fashion at COSPAR but their actual follow through of regulations are wanting,\u201d Mike Gold, chief growth officer at Redwire, said\u00a0at the 2023 Humans to Mars Summit<\/a>. NASA\u2019s Artemis Accords seek transparency in the peaceful exploration of space. We must apply that transparency to planetary protection, a pursuit COSPAR can lead.<\/p>\n

Cooperation with the private sector<\/h4>\n

Several companies have preliminary plans for\u00a0commercial launches to Mars<\/a>. The first human on the planet could be a private citizen. NASA and other international space agencies must work with private enterprise to develop agile policies that leverage innovation while protecting other worlds. The new space economy we now see unfolding has accelerated advances in many technologies. NASA, COSPAR, and other agencies can modernize international standards by flowing innovation through all parties and sharing best practices. The ability to detect contamination and characterize samples has vastly improved since the 1960s. Planetary protection policies need to take these advances into account.<\/p>\n

Leveraging technology to keep pace<\/h4>\n

Space agencies test spacecraft surfaces for potential contamination before launching them. NASA is exploring how\u00a0metagenomics<\/a>\u00a0might help conduct more specific risk-based assessments. The Jet Propulsion Lab conducts research<\/a>\u00a0in, among many disciplines, microbial reduction techniques and sample sterilization procedures.<\/p>\n

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Planetary protection can coexist with landing humans on Mars and bringing back rocks. It might be inconvenient, but it\u2019s worth it.<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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As Seasly said in her presentation at Penn State, NASA is undergoing a \u201chuge culture shift\u201d regarding planetary protection. That\u2019s vital. A new wave of collaborators\u2014governmental and private\u2014is leading space exploration in dynamic directions. They require a planetary protection framework that provides room for growth and innovation.<\/p>\n

Concurrently, these new space-goers bear responsibility to protect Earth and the places they visit. We can do both with the right policies. Planetary protection can coexist with landing humans on Mars and bringing back rocks. As Spry said, planetary protection might be inconvenient, but it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

Off we go<\/h3>\n

We face the issue of the \u201cobserver effect\u201d whenever we reach out to a new environment, be it on Earth or on another world. As mentioned earlier, it is somewhat pointless to spend a lot of time and effort to go to a distant world to study it only to find out that we altered or contaminated the very thing we went to study.<\/p>\n

Moreover, while science fiction is replete with constant alien invasions of Earth, the threat is not zero. And we will need to study many worlds and their life forms\u2014or lack of them\u2014before we can think of loosening these planetary protection protocols. Indeed, as we increase the number and diversity of worlds we visit these concerns may only become magnified.<\/p>\n

As for sending people, and all of their biological companions, to other worlds, we have found ways to visit remote places on Earth without forward and back contamination. As we go, we\u2019ll need to keep this in mind. But we will also need to understand what we find when we get there and how best to deal with this armed with data, not wild guesses.<\/p>\n

But go there we will. Safely.<\/p>\n

Featured image:<\/strong><\/em> Sample tubes cached by the Perseverance Mars rover for later return to Earth, an effort that requires following planetary protection protocols for both forward and backward contamination. (credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dylan Taylor is the founder and CEO of\u00a0Voyager Space<\/a>. Dylan is a commercial astronaut, flying a member of the NS-19 crew for Blue Origin. As an active NewSpace investor, he is dedicated to developing the space economy and accessibility to the final frontier.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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