United States.- As the first humans prepare for the mission to Mars, experts warn that protocols are necessary to prevent them from alien pollutants hit ships space and astronauts upon returning home from the Red Planet, the Daily Mail reported.
Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics Scott Hubbard said in an interview that the solution is “planetary protection.”
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced last year that NASA is aiming to put humans on Mars. sometime in the 2030s, and as early as 2035.
These viruses could survive the extreme conditions of space. AFP
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Although exciting, the mission could be damaging to Earth if the heroes who travel to space return with extraterrestrial pollutants. Speaking to Stanford News, Hubbard said:
“In my opinion, and that of the scientific community, the possibility that the rocks of Mars that are millions of years old contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low.”
But, the (Mars) samples returned by (NASA) will be quarantined and treated as if they were the Ebola virus until proven safe.
Designated astronauts will eventually set foot on Mars, encountering all manner of organisms. AFP
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Pre-Mars space missions, such as Viking I and II in the mid-1970s, used large-budget rockets that could be sterilized using only intense heat.
However, now that rockets are being developed inexpensively at both universities and companies such as SpaceX, these small vessels “will be burdened by the cost of planetary protection.”
Hubbard notes that while heat alone is not enough to decontaminate the technology, combining the process with chemical cleaning can be effective.
The tubes that return the samples aboard the upcoming Mars 2020 mission, which is being dispatched by NASA’s Perseverance Rover, will have to be “ baked at high temperature ” for human personnel to interact with.
Viruses that are feared to be found could pose a threat to thousands. AFP
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To guard against contamination from the back, there is a great effort to “break the chain of contact” between the returning spacecraft and the rock samples from Mars, H ubbard said.
“For example, autonomous sealing and welding techniques are planned to create three or four levels of containment.”
“In my opinion, and that of the scientific community, the possibility that the rocks of Mars that are millions of years old contain an active life form that could infect Earth is extremely low.
“But, the samples returned by MSR will be quarantined and treated like the Ebola virus until proven safe.” Hubbard acknowledges the fact that humans cannot cleanse themselves like robots and observes past protocols.
As for humans, the Apollo astronauts from the first lunar missions were quarantined to make sure they showed no signs of illness, he said.
‘Once it was discovered that the moon was not a risk, the quarantine was removed. Such a procedure will no doubt be followed for humans returning from Mars.
Experts are not only concerned with polluting Earth, but also fear that humans will spread their germs on Mars.
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