%0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Planetary Protection Considerations for Missions to Solar System Small Bodies: Report Series—Committee on Planetary Protection %@ 978-0-309-69372-1 %D 2023 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26714/planetary-protection-considerations-for-missions-to-solar-system-small-bodies %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26714/planetary-protection-considerations-for-missions-to-solar-system-small-bodies %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 64 %X The ultimate goal of planetary protection for outbound missions is to prevent harmful contamination that would inhibit future measurements designed to search for evidence of the existence or evolution of extraterrestrial life. Preventing harmful contamination is achieved by following specific guidelines based on existing scientific knowledge about the destination and the type of mission. This report responds to NASA's request for a study on planetary protection categorization of missions to small bodies, including whether there are particular populations of small bodies for which contamination of one object in the population would not be likely to have a tangible effect on the opportunities for scientific investigation using other objects in the population. In addressing NASA's request, the authoring committee considered surface composition of target bodies and their importance for prebiotic chemistry, along with size of the small-body populations, the current state of knowledge on the types of objects, the likelihood of a future scientific mission returning to any specific object, active object surface processes, and the size. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Report Series: Committee on Planetary Protection: Planetary Protection for the Study of Lunar Volatiles %@ 978-0-309-16200-5 %D 2020 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26029/report-series-committee-on-planetary-protection-planetary-protection-for-the %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26029/report-series-committee-on-planetary-protection-planetary-protection-for-the %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 62 %X Under U.S. policy and international treaty, the goals of planetary protection are to avoid both adverse changes in Earth’s environment caused by introducing extraterrestrial matter and harmful contamination of solar system bodies in order to protect their biological integrity for scientific study. The United States has long cooperated with other countries and relevant scientific communities through the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science in developing planetary protection guidance for different categories of space missions. In the past, achieving planetary protection objectives through science-based, international-consensus guidelines proved relatively straightforward because a small number of spacefaring nations explored the solar system, predominantly through government-led and scientifically focused robotic missions. However, interest in, and the capabilities to undertake, exploration and uses of outer space are evolving and expanding. More countries are engaging in space activities. Private-sector involvement is increasing. Planning is under way for human as well as robotic missions. As recent advisory reports have highlighted, the changes in the nature of space activities create unprecedented challenges for planetary protection. This publication responds to NASA’s request for “a short report on the impact of human activities on lunar polar volatiles (e.g., water, carbon dioxide, and methane) and the scientific value of protecting the surface and subsurface regions of the Earth’s Moon from organic and biological contamination.” It provides an overview of the current scientific understanding, value, and potential threat of organic and biological contamination of permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), lunar research relevant to understanding prebiotic evolution and the origin of life, and the likelihood that spacecraft landing on the lunar surface will transfer volatiles to polar cold traps. It also assesses how much and which regions of the Moon’s surface and subsurface warrant protection from organic and biological contamination because of their scientific value. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Report Series: Committee on Planetary Protection: Evaluation of Bioburden Requirements for Mars Missions %@ 978-0-309-27069-4 %D 2021 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26336/report-series-committee-on-planetary-protection-evaluation-of-bioburden-requirements %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26336/report-series-committee-on-planetary-protection-evaluation-of-bioburden-requirements %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 88 %X Since the 1980s, national and international planetary protection policies have sought to avoid contamination by terrestrial organisms that could compromise future investigations regarding the origin or presence of Martian life. Over the last decade, the number of national space agencies planning, participating in, and undertaking missions to Mars has increased, and private-sector enterprises are engaged in activities designed to enable commercial missions to Mars. The nature of missions to Mars is also evolving to feature more diversity in purposes and technologies. As missions to Mars increase and diversify, national and international processes for developing planetary protection measures recognize the need to consider the interests of scientific discovery, commercial activity, and human exploration. The implications of these changes for planetary protection should be considered in the context of how much science has learned about Mars, and about terrestrial life, in recent years. At the request of NASA, this report identifies criteria for determining locations on Mars potentially suitable for landed robotic missions that satisfy less stringent bioburden requirements, which are intended to manage the risk of forward contamination. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes %@ 978-0-309-47865-6 %D 2018 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25172/review-and-assessment-of-planetary-protection-policy-development-processes %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25172/review-and-assessment-of-planetary-protection-policy-development-processes %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 138 %X Protecting Earth's environment and other solar system bodies from harmful contamination has been an important principle throughout the history of space exploration. For decades, the scientific, political, and economic conditions of space exploration converged in ways that contributed to effective development and implementation of planetary protection policies at national and international levels. However, the future of space exploration faces serious challenges to the development and implementation of planetary protection policy. The most disruptive changes are associated with (1) sample return from, and human missions to, Mars; and (2) missions to those bodies in the outer solar system possessing water oceans beneath their icy surfaces. Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes addresses the implications of changes in the complexion of solar system exploration as they apply to the process of developing planetary protection policy. Specifically, this report examines the history of planetary protection policy, assesses the current policy development process, and recommends actions to improve the policy development process in the future. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T The Goals, Rationales, and Definition of Planetary Protection: Interim Report %@ 978-0-309-46162-7 %D 2017 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24809/the-goals-rationales-and-definition-of-planetary-protection-interim-report %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24809/the-goals-rationales-and-definition-of-planetary-protection-interim-report %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 34 %X 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. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Assessment of the Report of NASA's Planetary Protection Independent Review Board %@ 978-0-309-67649-6 %D 2020 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25773/assessment-of-the-report-of-nasas-planetary-protection-independent-review-board %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25773/assessment-of-the-report-of-nasas-planetary-protection-independent-review-board %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 88 %X The goal of planetary protection is to control, to the degree possible, the biological cross-contamination of planetary bodies. Guidelines developed by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) are used by all spacefaring nations to guide their preparations for encounters with solar system bodies. NASA's Science Mission Directorate has convened the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board (PPIRB) to consider updating the COSPAR guidelines given the growing interest from commercial and private groups in exploration and utilization of Mars and other bodies in space. At the request of NASA, this publication reviews the findings of the PPIRB and comments on their consistency with the recommendations of the recent National Academies report Review and Assessment of the Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Planetary Protection Classification of Sample Return Missions from the Martian Moons %@ 978-0-309-48859-4 %D 2019 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25357/planetary-protection-classification-of-sample-return-missions-from-the-martian-moons %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25357/planetary-protection-classification-of-sample-return-missions-from-the-martian-moons %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 74 %X An international consensus policy to prevent the biological cross-contamination of planetary bodies exists and is maintained by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science, which is consultative to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Currently, COSPAR's planetary protection policy does not specify the status of sample-return missions from Phobos or Deimos, the moons of Mars. Although the moons themselves are not considered potential habitats for life or of intrinsic relevance to prebiotic chemical evolution, recent studies indicate that a significant amount of material recently ejected from Mars could be present on the surface of Phobos and, to a lesser extent, Deimos. This report reviews recent theoretical, experimental, and modeling research on the environments and physical conditions encountered by Mars ejecta during certain processes. It recommends whether missions returning samples from Phobos and/or Deimos should be classified as "restricted" or "unrestricted" Earth return in the framework of the planetary protection policy maintained by COSPAR. This report also considers the specific ways the classification of sample return from Deimos is a different case than sample return from Phobos. %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Spacecraft Missions to Icy Solar System Bodies %@ 978-0-309-25675-9 %D 2012 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13401/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-spacecraft-missions-to-icy-solar-system-bodies %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13401/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-spacecraft-missions-to-icy-solar-system-bodies %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 94 %X NASA's exploration of planets and satellites during the past 50 years has led to the discovery of traces of water ice throughout the solar system and prospects for large liquid water reservoirs beneath the frozen ICE shells of multiple satellites of the giant planets of the outer solar system. During the coming decades, NASA and other space agencies will send flybys, orbiters, subsurface probes, and, possibly, landers to these distant worlds in order to explore their geologic and chemical context. Because of their potential to harbor alien life, NASA will select missions that target the most habitable outer solar system objects. This strategy poses formidable challenges for mission planners who must balance the opportunity for exploration with the risk of contamination by Earth's microbes, which could confuse the interpretation of data obtained from these objects. The 2000 NRC report Preventing the Forward Contamination of Europa provided a criterion that was adopted with prior recommendations from the Committee on Space Research of the International Council for Science. This current NRC report revisits and extends the findings and recommendations of the 2000 Europa report in light of recent advances in planetary and life sciences and, among other tasks, assesses the risk of contamination of icy bodies in the solar system. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Venus Missions: Letter Report %D 2006 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11584/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-venus-missions-letter-report %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11584/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-venus-missions-letter-report %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P 16 %X In 2005, the Planetary Protection Office of NASA asked the NRC to advise the Office on planetary protection concerns about missions to and from Venus. In particular, the NRC was asked to assess whether the surface and atmospheric environments of Venus might be capable of supporting microbial contamination from Earth, and, if so, to recommend prevention measures for future missions; to recommend planetary protection measures associated with return of samples from Venus to Earth; and to identify specific scientific investigations that may be needed to reduce any uncertainty in those assessments. This letter report provides a review of scientific considerations and past NRC studies on the issue; brief assessments of the key topics affecting the potential for forward and back contamination; a review of planetary protection considerations; and conclusions and recommendations. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions %@ 978-0-309-13073-8 %D 2009 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12576/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-mars-sample-return-missions %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12576/assessment-of-planetary-protection-requirements-for-mars-sample-return-missions %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 90 %X NASA maintains a planetary protection policy to avoid the forward biological contamination of other worlds by terrestrial organisms, and back biological contamination of Earth from the return of extraterrestrial materials by spaceflight missions. Forward-contamination issues related to Mars missions were addressed in a 2006 National Research Council (NRC) book, Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars. However, it has been more than 10 years since back-contamination issues were last examined. Driven by a renewed interest in Mars sample return missions, this book reviews, updates, and replaces the planetary protection conclusions and recommendations contained in the NRC's 1997 report Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations. The specific issues addressed in this book include the following: The potential for living entities to be included in samples returned from Mars; Scientific investigations that should be conducted to reduce uncertainty in the above assessment; The potential for large-scale effects on Earth's environment by any returned entity released to the environment; Criteria for intentional sample release, taking note of current and anticipated regulatory frameworks; and The status of technological measures that could be taken on a mission to prevent the inadvertent release of a returned sample into Earth's biosphere. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions %@ 978-0-309-37904-5 %D 2015 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21816/review-of-the-mepag-report-on-mars-special-regions %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21816/review-of-the-mepag-report-on-mars-special-regions %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 80 %X Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth. The protection of high-priority science goals, the search for life and the understanding of the Martian organic environment may be compromised if Earth microbes carried by spacecraft are grown and spread on Mars. This has led to the definition of Special Regions on Mars where strict planetary protection measures have to be applied before a spacecraft can enter these areas. At NASA's request, the community-based Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) established the Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2) in October 2013 to examine the quantitative definition of a Special Region and proposed modifications to it, as necessary, based upon the latest scientific results. Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions reviews the conclusions and recommendations contained in MEPAG's SR-SAG2 report and assesses their consistency with current understanding of both the Martian environment and the physical and chemical limits for the survival and propagation of microbial and other life on Earth. This report provides recommendations for an update of the planetary protection requirements for Mars Special Regions. %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars %@ 978-0-309-09724-6 %D 2006 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11381/preventing-the-forward-contamination-of-mars %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11381/preventing-the-forward-contamination-of-mars %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 166 %X Recent spacecraft and robotic probes to Mars have yielded data that are changing our understanding significantly about the possibility of existing or past life on that planet. Coupled with advances in biology and life-detection techniques, these developments place increasing importance on the need to protect Mars from contamination by Earth-borne organisms. To help with this effort, NASA requested that the NRC examine existing planetary protection measures for Mars and recommend changes and further research to improve such measures. This report discusses policies, requirements, and techniques to protect Mars from organisms originating on Earth that could interfere with scientific investigations. It provides recommendations on cleanliness and biological burden levels of Mars-bound spacecraft, methods to reach those levels, and research to reduce uncertainties in preventing forward contamination of Mars. %0 Book %T Preventing the Forward Contamination of Europa %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9895/preventing-the-forward-contamination-of-europa %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9895/preventing-the-forward-contamination-of-europa %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 54 %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Space Studies Board Annual Report 2017 %D 2018 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25146/space-studies-board-annual-report-2017 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25146/space-studies-board-annual-report-2017 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 128 %X The original charter of the Space Science Board was established in June 1958, three months before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opened its doors. The Space Science Board and its successor, the Space Studies Board (SSB), have provided expert external and independent scientific and programmatic advice to NASA on a continuous basis from NASA's inception until the present. The SSB has also provided such advice to other executive branch agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Defense, as well as to Congress. Space Studies Board Annual Report 2017 covers a message from the chair of the SSB, David N. Spergel. This report also explains the origins of the Space Science Board, how the Space Studies Board functions today, the SSB's collaboration with other National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine units, assures the quality of the SSB reports, acknowledges the audience and sponsors, and expresses the necessity to enhance the outreach and improve dissemination of SSB reports. This report will be relevant to a full range of government audiences in civilian space research - including NASA, NSF, NOAA, USGS, and the Department of Energy, as well members of the SSB, policy makers, and researchers. %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %A National Research Council %T An Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars %@ 978-0-309-10851-5 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11937/an-astrobiology-strategy-for-the-exploration-of-mars %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11937/an-astrobiology-strategy-for-the-exploration-of-mars %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 130 %X Three recent developments have greatly increased interest in the search for life on Mars. The first is new information about the Martian environment including evidence of a watery past and the possibility of atmospheric methane. The second is the possibility of microbial viability on Mars. Finally, the Vision for Space Exploration initiative included an explicit directive to search for the evidence of life on Mars. These scientific and political developments led NASA to request the NRC’s assistance in formulating an up-to-date integrated astrobiology strategy for Mars exploration. Among other topics, this report presents a review of current knowledge about possible life on Mars; an astrobiological assessment of current Mars missions; a review of Mars-mission planetary protection; and findings and recommendations. The report notes that the greatest increase in understanding of Mars will come from the collection and return to Earth of a well-chosen suite of Martian surface materials.