Report of the 6th (Virtual) Meeting on the Planetary Protection Knowledge Gaps for Human Missions to Mars on June...

This paper reports the sixth in a series of meetings held under the auspices of COSPAR (with space agencies support) to identify, refine and prioritize the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed for planetary protection for crewed missions to Mars, as well as to describe where and how needed data can be obtained. This approach is consistent with current scientific understanding and COSPAR policy, that the presence of a biological hazard in Martian material cannot be ruled out, and appropriate mitigations need to be in place. The workshops in the series were intentionally organized to obtain a diverse set of inputs from subject matter experts across a range of expertise on conduct of a potential future crewed Mars exploration mission, identifying and leveraging precursor ground, cis-lunar crewed and Mars robotic activities that can be used to close knowledge gaps. The knowledge gaps addressed by this meeting series fall into three major themes: 1. Microbial and human health monitoring; 2. Technology and operations for biological contamination control, and; 3. Natural transport of biological contamination on Mars. This report describes the findings of the 2022 meeting, which focused on measures needed to protect the crew and the returning Mars samples during the mission, both on the Martian surface and during the return to Earth. Much of this approach to crewed exploration is well aligned with the Principles and Guidelines for Human Missions to Mars described in section 9.3 of the current (2021) COSPAR policy, in terms of goals and intent. There were three specific recommendations.