Planetary protection

Planetary Protection is the term used to describe a guiding principle in design of an interplanetary mission that aims to prevent biological contamination of both the target planet/celestial body and the Earth.

This principle arises from the scientific need to preserve planetary conditions for future biological and organic constituent exploration – especially exobiology/astrobiology.

It also aims to protect the Earth and its biosphere from potential extraterrestrial sources of contamination.

The need for planetary protection measures is strongest for missions designed to return a sample of another planet or celestial body to the earth. The spacecraft must be sterilised before leaving Earth in order to minimise the risk of depositing Earth-originating biological material at the destination. The return vehicle must then be designed such that the sample is returned in highly reliable "bio-container" with measures in place to dispose of any parts of the vehicle which could have been contaminated before re-entry into the Earth's biosphere.

The discovery of extremophiles on Earth surviving temperatures that we previously thought to be lethal to all life, and of microbes on an earlier lunar probe demonstrate how extraordinarily difficult it can be to prevent biological contamination.

Measures currently in use for scientific exploration include dry-heating of satellites, sterilising wipes and aseptic integration of components. These add a significant burden to mission designers and integration teams.

External Links

No bugs please, this is a clean planet! (ESA article) http://www.esa.int/esaCP/ESAUB676K3D_index_0.html