New Measures Needed to Keep NASA Spacecraft From Contaminating Mars

Over the coming decade, NASA should develop and implement new methods and requirements to detect and eliminate microorganisms on robotic spacecraft sent to Mars to prevent possible contamination of the planet, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. If microbes aboard a spacecraft were to survive the trip to Mars and grow there, they could interfere with scientific investigations to detect any life that might be native to Mars. Existing techniques for cleaning spacecraft are outdated and typically eliminate only a fraction of microorganisms, said the committee that wrote the report.

Recent scientific findings suggest that liquid water could be present at many locations on Mars and that some organisms on Earth might survive in extreme, Mars-like conditions -- such as very low temperatures and high salt concentrations. These discoveries have bolstered the case that Mars could be -- or have been -- hospitable to life and have created urgency to update policies and practices to prevent Mars contamination, the report says.

"Ongoing Mars missions have shown that the planet may have environments where some Earth microbes could grow," said Christopher F. Chyba, committee chair and professor of astrophysics and international affairs at Princeton University, Princeton, N.J. "Although we don't know for sure if this could happen, we need to understand whether liquid water exists in Martian near-surface environments, as well as the nature of microorganisms that are in our clean rooms and spacecraft. It will take a while to carry out the needed research and development, so we need to start in earnest now."

NASA currently uses screening techniques that detect heat-resistant and spore-forming bacteria on spacecraft and then reduces their numbers by cleaning the spacecraft and, in certain circumstances, baking components with dry heat. But these screening methods are not designed to give a comprehensive tally of the microbes present on the spacecraft, and dry heat can be applied only to spacecraft materials that can withstand high temperatures, the report notes.

NASA should sponsor new research efforts aimed at preventing Mars contamination, the committee said, such as new techniques for detecting biological molecules that do not require time for growing laboratory cultures and could speed spacecraft sterilization and assembly in clean rooms. Also, methods that determine genetic sequences of organisms and link them to known microbial species could allow NASA to tailor sterilization techniques toward spacecraft contaminants of greatest concern. NASA should also investigate alternative cleaning methods -- such as the use of radiation or vapor disinfectants -- for their effectiveness in killing different types of microorganisms and for their effects on various spacecraft materials.

NASA should develop a certification process to compare detection and cleaning methods and select the most promising ones, begin testing and validating improved techniques within the next three years, and fully implement selected new techniques in time for spacecraft to launch in 2016. Until NASA conducts the research needed to transition to a modern approach for planetary protection, the agency should apply more stringent sterilization levels to all Mars landing spacecraft, the committee said. An independent review panel should be created by NASA and meet every three years to review new knowledge about the Martian environment and recommend updates, as needed, to Mars protection requirements.

The study was sponsored by NASA. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provide science and technology advice under a congressional charter.

Source: National Academy of Sciences

Related stories:

NASA scales back flagship Mars mission
(AP) -- NASA is scrapping a controversial piece of hardware from its next-generation Mars rover that would have allowed the spacecraft to store rock fragments in a mini-basket for a future mission.
Dawn Glides Into New Year
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft shut down its ion propulsion system today as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby in February of next year.
Solar Wind Rips Up Martian Atmosphere
Researchers have found new evidence that the atmosphere of Mars is being stripped away by solar wind. It's not a gently continuous erosion, but rather a ripping process in which chunks of Martian air detach themselves from the planet and tumble into deep space. This surprising mechanism could help solve a longstanding mystery about the Red Planet.
Happy Birthday: Space station celebrates 10 years
(AP) -- NASA couldn't have staged it any better: 10 people in orbit for Thursday's 10th anniversary of the world's most elaborate and expensive housing project, the international space station.
Site List Narrows For NASA's Next Mars Landing
(PhysOrg.com) -- Four intriguing places on Mars have risen to the final round as NASA selects a landing site for its next Mars mission, the Mars Science Laboratory.
NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' movie WALL-E from Pixar Animation Studios, will conduct a naming contest for its car-sized Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009.
NASA Tests First Deep-Space Internet
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet.
Space waste: Handling garbage when your dumpster is 100 million miles away?
In space, no one takes out the trash. Garbage can pile up, spoil and become a health hazard for astronauts in the cramped living quarters of a space station.

News discussion:

Space & Earth science news