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In situ biological contamination studies of the moon: implications for future planetary protection and life detection missions
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Glavin, Daniel P. Lupisella, Mark Kminek, Gerhard Rummel, John D. Dworkin, Jason P. |
| Copyright Year | 2010 |
| Description | NASA and ESA have outlined visions for solar system exploration that will include a series of lunar robotic precursor missions to prepare for, and support a human return to the Moon, and future human exploration of Mars and other destinations. One of the guiding principles for exploration is to pursue compelling scientific questions about the origin and evolution of life. The search for life on objects such as Mars will require that all spacecraft and instrumentation be sufficiently cleaned and sterilized prior to launch to ensure that the scientific integrity of extraterrestrial samples is not jeopardized by terrestrial organic contamination. Under the Committee on Space Research's (COSPAR's) current planetary protection policy for the Moon, no sterilization procedures are required for outbound lunar spacecraft, nor is there yet a planetary protection category for human missions. Future in situ investigations of a variety of locations on the Moon by highly sensitive instruments designed to search for biologically derived organic compounds would help assess the contamination of the Moon by lunar spacecraft. These studies could also provide valuable "ground truth" data for Mars sample return missions and help define planetary protection requirements for future Mars bound spacecraft carrying life detection experiments. In addition, studies of the impact of terrestrial contamination of the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts could provide valuable data to help refine future Mars surface exploration plans for a human mission to Mars. |
| File Size | 450824 |
| Page Count | 8 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20100036597 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t7bs3s38m |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2010-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Lunar Spacecraft Policies Spacecraft Instruments Extraterrestrial Life Biological Evolution Spaceborne Experiments Spacecraft Sterilization Robotics Contamination Biological Effects Planetary Protection Space Exploration Lunar Surface Organic Compounds Mars Missions Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
