The major planetary quarantine issues associated with human exploration of Mars, which is viewed as being more likely to harbor indigenous life than is the moon, are discussed. Special attention is given to the environmental impact of human missions to Mars due to contamination and mechanical disturbances of the local environment, the contamination issues associated with the return of humans, and the planetary quarantine strategy for a human base. It is emphasized that, in addition to the question of indigenous life, there may be some concern of returning to earth the earth microorganisms that have spent some time in the Martian environment. It is suggested that, due to the fact that a robot system can be subjected to more stringent controls and protective treatments than a mission involving humans, a robotic sample return mission can help to eliminate many planetary-quarantine concerns about returning samples.
Planetary protection issues in advance of human exploration of Mars
1989-01-01
Miscellaneous
No indication
English
Planetary protection issues in advance of human exploration of Mars
Elsevier | 1989
|Planetary Protection Issues in the Human Exploration of Mars
SAE Technical Papers | 2003
|Planetary Protection Issues in the Human Exploration of Mars
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2003
|