The Jet Propulsion Laboratory
presents

Planetary Protection
for NASA Missions

Humans have long pursued answers to those age-old questions: where do we come from; and, are we alone? For over a century now, we have debated, and even fantasized about the existence of extraterrestrial life. In the coming decades scientists are planning to gain further insight into these questions by sending spacecraft to some of the solar system bodies that are considered most likely to have, or at one time have had, life.

It is very important to make the most of discoveries in those faraway places. If an organism is found, it must be ascertained whether the organism is indigenous to that planet or if it is an Earthly "hitchhiker" from the current mission or a previous mission. It is of utmost importance to protect other solar system bodies from biological contamination originating from Earth (termed "forward contamination") as well as protecting Earth from any type of extraterrestrial contamination (termed "back contamination").

A major step toward understanding the composition of solar system bodies is to bring samples back to Earth. NASA is currently working on procedures to protect the Earth from any exposure to possible back contamination. These tasks fall under the heading of planetary protection. In order to provide for this type of protection, NASA, with help from the scientific community, will set requirements for both outbound spacecraft and sample-return missions. This web site provides information on what planetary protection is, and how it will be implemented for NASA's missions.

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