The report also urges NASA to assess the threats the astronauts themselves
from toxic
substances, such as hexavalent chromium, and radiation. The MARIE
instrument aboard the Mars Odyssey
orbiter is already gathering data on the
planet's radiation environment. Understanding how Earth life responds to
conditions in space or on other planets is a primary goal of astrobiology.
One recommendation poses a particular dilemma for Mars exploration. The report
suggests that astronauts deliberately avoid areas where life might exist. However,
the search for life on Mars is a primary
scientific motive for exploring the planet.
Aug 29, 2002 | MISSIONS
No Bugs Please, This Is a Clean Planet!
(ESA) - ESA is making sure its robotic missions to bodies within our solar system are biologically ÂcleanÂ.
Aug 15, 2002 | MISSIONS
Work Starts On Assembling Beagle 2
(Space Daily) - Assembly of the European Space AgencyÂs Beagle 2 lander has begun, and researchers hope it will be on the surface of Mars by late next year.
Jul 11, 2002 | SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGIES
Ice Cube of Exotic Microbes
(Astrobiology Magazine) - A pocket of permafrost deep beneath Antarctica offers a chance to test sterile drilling techniques before exploring elsewhere for exotic microbes.
May 07, 2002 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Australia Prepares for Asteroid Scavenger's Otherworldly Cargo
(Space.com) - Officials review planetary protection measures for the MUSES-C sample return.
Jan 07, 2002 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Signs of Life: On the Lookout for Extraterrestrial Sweet Spots
(Space.com) - A new report reviews methods for detecting extraterrestrial life, and for preventing cross-contamination of planets.
Dec 07, 2001 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Europe Heads for Mars
(NASA Astrobiology Institute) - The Beagle 2, a compact, lightweight lander carried on the European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Express orbiter, will search for signs of life on the Red Planet.
Jul 27, 2001 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Eilene Theilig: Faith, by Jupiter
(CNN) - The manager of NASAÂs Galileo mission to Jupiter discusses the 12-year-old spacecraft and what it has taught us so far.
Apr 09, 2001 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Life's chemical fingerprints
(NASA Astrobiology Institute) - Using a technique called Raman spectroscopy, researchers are developing instruments that may one day search for life on Mars, Europa, or Callisto.
Nov 07, 2000 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Group fears Mars sample return might contaminate Earth
(CNN) - Planetary protection is one of astrobiology's primary objectives.
Jul 06, 2000 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Galileo to crash into Jupiter
(space.com) - To avoid contaminating Jupiter's moons, NASA will deliberately crash land the aging spacecraft.
Apr 27, 2000 | MISSIONS
Life detection technology gets room to grow
(space.com) - The postponement of missions to Mars gives scientists more time to hone technologies for searching for life.
Feb 21, 2000 | MISSIONS
With mission ending, NASA considers crash-landing Galileo probe
(Yahoo!/AP) - The spacecraft could send valuable data as it plunges into Jupiter or one of its moons. NASA will not crash Galileo into Europa for fear of planetary contamination.
Oct 04, 1999 | SCIENCE
Hardy Microbes appear able to survive in space
(Washington Post) - NASA astrobiologist Rocco Mancinelli's findings bolster the hypothesis that microbial life may have evovled elsewhere and spread to Earth, or vice versa. His research also underscores the need for planetary protection from exterrestrial organisms in sample-return missions.
