Review of the MEPAG report on Mars special regions / Committee to Review the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions, Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine ; European Space Sciences Committee, European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, France.

By:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee to Review the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, [2015]Copyright date: �2015Description: 1 online resource (xiv, 66 pages) : color illustrationsContent type:

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9780309379052
0309379059

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Electronic books.

Additional physical formats: Print version:: Review of the MEPAG report on Mars special regions.DDC classification:

523.43 23

LOC classification:

QB641

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Summary: Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth. The protection of high-priority science goals, the search for life and the understanding of the Martian organic environment may be compromised if Earth microbes carried by spacecraft are grown and spread on Mars. This has led to the definition of Special Regions on Mars where strict planetary protection measures have to be applied before a spacecraft can enter these areas. At NASA's request, the community-based Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) established the Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2) in October 2013 to examine the quantitative definition of a Special Region and proposed modifications to it, as necessary, based upon the latest scientific results. Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions reviews the conclusions and recommendations contained in MEPAG's SR-SAG2 report and assesses their consistency with current understanding of both the Martian environment and the physical and chemical limits for the survival and propagation of microbial and other life on Earth. This report provides recommendations for an update of the planetary protection requirements for Mars Special Regions.

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Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed December 29, 2015).

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Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth. The protection of high-priority science goals, the search for life and the understanding of the Martian organic environment may be compromised if Earth microbes carried by spacecraft are grown and spread on Mars. This has led to the definition of Special Regions on Mars where strict planetary protection measures have to be applied before a spacecraft can enter these areas. At NASA's request, the community-based Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) established the Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2) in October 2013 to examine the quantitative definition of a Special Region and proposed modifications to it, as necessary, based upon the latest scientific results. Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions reviews the conclusions and recommendations contained in MEPAG's SR-SAG2 report and assesses their consistency with current understanding of both the Martian environment and the physical and chemical limits for the survival and propagation of microbial and other life on Earth. This report provides recommendations for an update of the planetary protection requirements for Mars Special Regions.

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