Mars Exploration Must Consider Contamination

letxa2000 writes: "CNN is reporting that the National Research Council has submitted a report to NASA that recommends certain precautions be taken if NASA is to send astronauts to Mars to guarantee that they don't bring back Mars-based bacteria and contaminate earth; including possibly banning the return vehicle from entering the Earth's atmosphere. What is the likelihood of bacterial life on Mars infecting the earth if we ever get around to visiting Mars in person?"

Infecting Mars

[txtger]

Another interesting possibility is that we may infect Mars. What if the astronauts get there, and some random bacteria is on their spacesuit? Or some other piece of equiptment for that matter? It 'd be like smallpox in the New World all over again. We could actually see life on Mars destroyed by our visit, before we ever actually get to see much of it.

How can we avoid it?

[ProfMoriarty]

The only potential way of doing this, would be to do a transfer of personel in space.

Of course the spacesuits would have to be decontaminated.

I know ... why not have the astronauts strip in space, then float over to the awaiting spacecraft ...

Seriously though ... can we prevent it? My bet would be that we can't be 100% guarenteed that we'd get all the bacteria/critters.

Galactic Bacterial Domination

[No_Weak_Heart]

Hmm... meteorites from Mars bring bacterial life to Earth -> astronauts form Earth bring bacterial life to Mars -> astronauts return to Earth with fresh bacteria from Mars... ad nauseam. These little guys have been around a lot longer than us and have more than proved their mettle. Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects about life on the small scale(bacteria, virus etc...) is this incredible ability to move between vastly differing environments and be successful in those new environments. Something humans and other higher order animals don't do so well.

Refusing the spacecraft to reenter Earth's atmosphere might work for quarantining hardware, but where do we put the astronauts who return with low level infections? Will we even be able to detect such an infection?

Compatibility Issues

[pete-classic]

I think that taking reasonable precautions is prudent.

But let's be serious. I enjoyed "The Andromeda Strain" as much as the next guy, but I don't think this is very realistic. A chimp can't catch a cold from me. I can only play host to a limited number of bacteria that a lizard is susceptible to. And they want me to believe that there may be some man-killer bacteria on Mars? Even if you're one of these nutters who thinks that big headed grey dudes seeded our solar system with their DNA, why would you think a flesh-eating bacterium would evolve on a planted WITH NO FLESHY BEINGS?

I think we're all just a bit too eager to see Data dork Yar.

-Peter

Makes me wonder what we left on the moon

[crimoid]

This makes me wonder what, if anything, we left on the moon.... growing.... breeding... multiplying in the lunar dust...

suspicion

[loydcc]

Am I the only one who thinks maybe NASA knows something about the possibility of life on Mars that they're not shareing with the rest of us?

Wasn't there a controversy over a test on Viking?

Been there, done that.

[Erris]

So what about all those landing craft we've sent there? Has toe-mung taken over the red planet? Will it smell like a big foot one day?

As for the trip from mars to earth. It's been made too, hasn't it? You know, all those rocks from Mars that you can find in Antartica? There are various theories about how live might survive such a jouney. Has anyone proved it yet?

Me too for the person who correctly noted that it's more important to protect human life from potential harm than it is to protect bacteria on Mars from harm. Live competes, that's the story of microbes. Tough luck to them and anti-biotics for those in you and me.