Planetary Protection and Mars Special Regions--A Suggestion for Updating the Definition

Petra Rettberg; Alexandre M Anesio; Victor R Baker; John A Baross; Sherry L Cady; Emmanouil Detsis; Christine M Foreman; Ernst Hauber; Gian Gabriele Ori; David A Pearce; Nilton O Renno; Gary Ruvkun; Birgit Sattler; Mark P Saunders; David H Smith; Dirk Wagner; Frances Westall

doi:10.1089/ast.2016.1472

Planetary Protection and Mars Special Regions--A Suggestion for Updating the Definition

Astrobiology. 2016 Feb;16(2):119-25. doi: 10.1089/ast.2016.1472. Epub 2016 Feb 5.

Authors

Petra Rettberg¹, Alexandre M Anesio², Victor R Baker³, John A Baross⁴, Sherry L Cady⁵, Emmanouil Detsis⁶, Christine M Foreman⁷, Ernst Hauber⁸, Gian Gabriele Ori⁹, David A Pearce¹⁰, Nilton O Renno¹¹, Gary Ruvkun¹², Birgit Sattler¹³, Mark P Saunders¹⁴, David H Smith¹⁵, Dirk Wagner¹⁶, Frances Westall¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ 1 German Aerospace Centre , Cologne, Germany .
² 2 Bristol Glaciology Centre, University of Bristol , Bristol, UK.
³ 3 Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona , Tucson, Arizona, USA.
⁴ 4 School of Oceanography, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁵ 5 Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland, Washington, USA.
⁶ 6 Space Sciences Group, European Science Foundation , Strasbourg, France .
⁷ 7 Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Montana State University , Bozeman, Montana, USA.
⁸ 8 Department of Planetary Geology, German Aerospace Centre , Berlin, Germany .
⁹ 9 International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Universita d'Annunzio , Pescara, Italy .
¹⁰ 10 Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University , Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
¹¹ 11 College of Engineering, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
¹² 12 Richard B. Simches Research Center, Harvard Medical School , Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹³ 13 Austrian Polar Research Institute, University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, Austria .
¹⁴ 14 Langley Research Center , NASA, Hampton, Virginia, USA (Retired).
¹⁵ 15 Space Studies Board, National Academies of Science , Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁶ 16 German Research Centre for Geosciences Helmholtz Centre Potsdam , Potsdam, Germany .
¹⁷ 17 Centre de biophysique moléculaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , Orléans, France .

PMID: 26848950
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1472

Abstract

We highlight the role of COSPAR and the scientific community in defining and updating the framework of planetary protection. Specifically, we focus on Mars "Special Regions," areas where strict planetary protection measures have to be applied before a spacecraft can explore them, given the existence of environmental conditions that may be conducive to terrestrial microbial growth. We outline the history of the concept of Special Regions and inform on recent developments regarding the COSPAR policy, namely, the MEPAG SR-SAG2 review and the Academies and ESF joint committee report on Mars Special Regions. We present some new issues that necessitate the update of the current policy and provide suggestions for new definitions of Special Regions. We conclude with the current major scientific questions that remain unanswered regarding Mars Special Regions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Extraterrestrial Environment*
Mars*
Policy