Planetary Protection in Advance of Human Missions
The Science Mission Directorate is facilitating a series of virtual events aimed at discussing the priority science goals and Planetary Protection knowledge gaps that NASA should address in advance of human presence on the surface of Mars.
The first, two-day virtual seminar, "Science and Planetary Protection in Advance of Human Missions Seminar" will take place on July 31 and Aug. 1, 2024.
The second, a three-day virtual workshop to be held on Oct. 30-Nov. 1, will collect abstracts from the community to introduce mission concepts, research questions, and considerations based on discussions at the first event. Additional details about the second workshop will be provided as they are available.
Event Information
These virtual events will introduce key discussion topics and knowledge gaps, led by community experts and based on the latest available data. Attendees will be asked to contribute to brainstorming sessions to identify forward work and potential priorities for the subsequent workshop.
Attendees will discuss and develop answers to pertinent questions including.
- What data do we need to collect and what research do we need to conduct to limit harmful contamination of Mars before humans arrive?
- What scientific research needs to be conducted before humans arrive and how will it inform the activities of the human explorers once they are on the surface?
- What research will the crew themselves be doing, and how will forward and backward contamination control be incorporated into those research activities?
The results from this seminar and workshop will inform future research and mission priorities. The seminar and workshop conveners include the NASA Planetary Protection Office and Mars Exploration Program, as well as the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). Additionally, this seminar and workshop is co-sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Program and the Network for Life Detection (NfoLD), an Astrobiology Research Coordination Network (RCN). We will make a summary of the workshop publicly available.