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Four Fallacies and an Oversight: Searching for Martian Life
11 SETI Institute , Mountain View, California.
Abstract:
While it is anticipated that future human missions to Mars will increase the amount of biological and organic contamination that might be distributed on that planet, robotic missions continue to grow in capability and complexity, requiring precautions to be taken now to protect Mars, and particularly areas of Mars that might be Special Regions. Such precautionary cleanliness requirements for spacecraft have evolved over the course of the space age, as we have learned more about planetary environments, and are the subject of regular deliberations and decisions sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). COSPAR's planetary protection policy is maintained as an international consensus standard for spacecraft cleanliness that is recognized by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. In response to the paper presented in this issue by Fairén et al. (2017), we examine both their concept of evidence for possible life on Mars and their logic in recommending that spacecraft cleanliness requirements be relaxed to access Special Regions "before it is too late." We find that there are shortcomings in their plans to look for evidence of life on Mars, that they do not support their contention that appropriate levels of spacecraft cleanliness are unaffordable, that there are major risks in assuming martian life could be identified by nucleic acid sequence comparison (especially if those sequences are obtained from a Special Region contaminated with Earth life), and that the authors do not justify their contention that exploration with dirty robots, now, is preferable to the possibility that later contamination will be spread by human exploration. We also note that the potential effects of contaminating resources and environments essential to future human occupants of Mars are both significant and not addressed by Fairén et al. (2017). Key Words: Mars-Special Region-Mission-Life detection-Planetary protection. Astrobiology 17, 971-974.
Insights
Planetary protection policies for Mars require strict spacecraft cleanliness to prevent contamination, especially in Special Regions. This study critiques proposals to relax these standards, highlighting risks to life detection and future human missions.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Astrobiology
- Space Policy
Background:
- Future human missions to Mars and increasingly capable robotic missions necessitate robust planetary protection measures.
- Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) establishes international consensus standards for spacecraft cleanliness to safeguard Martian environments, particularly Special Regions.
- Existing policies aim to prevent biological and organic contamination of Mars.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the proposal by Fairén et al. (2017) to relax spacecraft cleanliness requirements for accessing Martian Special Regions.
- To assess the scientific and logistical justifications for altering current planetary protection protocols.
- To address the potential risks associated with relaxed cleanliness standards for both life detection and future human exploration.
Main Methods:
- Review and critique of the methodology and evidence presented by Fairén et al. (2017) regarding Martian life detection.
- Analysis of the economic and technical feasibility arguments for relaxing spacecraft cleanliness.
- Evaluation of the risks of Earth-based contamination impacting the search for indigenous Martian life.
- Assessment of the long-term implications for future human missions to Mars.
Main Results:
- Shortcomings identified in the proposed methods for detecting life on Mars.
- Lack of supporting evidence for the claim that current spacecraft cleanliness standards are unaffordable.
- Significant risks highlighted in using nucleic acid sequencing for Martian life detection in potentially contaminated environments.
- Inadequate justification for prioritizing exploration with 'dirty' robots over maintaining stringent contamination controls.
Conclusions:
- Current planetary protection policies, particularly concerning Special Regions on Mars, should be maintained.
- Relaxing cleanliness requirements poses substantial risks to the scientific integrity of life detection missions.
- The potential impact of contamination on future human resources and environments on Mars requires careful consideration and is not adequately addressed by the reviewed proposal.
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