When Biospheres Collide: A History of NASA's Planetary Protection Programs: A History of NASA's Planetary Protection Programs - Couverture souple

Meltzer, Michael; National Aeronautics And Space Administration

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0160888042 ISBN 13 : 9780160888045

Editeur : U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Admi, 2011

Synopsis

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This new book from the NASA History Series tackles an interesting duo of biological problems that will be familiar to anybody who has seen photos of Apollo astronauts quarantined after their return to Earth.Namely, how do we avoid contaminating celestial bodies with Earthly germs when we send spacecraft to study these bodies, and how do we avoid spreading foreign biological matter from space when our robotic and human spacefarers return to Earth?Biological matter from an external system could potentially cause an unchecked epidemic either on Earth or in space so strict precautions are necessary.
Each time a space vehicle visits another world it runs the risk of forever changing that extraterrestrial environment. We are surrounded on Earth by a melange of different microorganisms, and if some of these hitchhike onboard a space mission, they could contaminate and start colonies on a different planet. Such an occurrence would irrevocably alter the nature of that world, compromise all future scientific exploration of the body, and possibly damage any extant life on it.By inadvertently carrying exotic organisms back to Earth on our spacecraft, we also risk the release of biohazardous materials into our own ecosystem. Such concerns were recognized by scientists even before the 1957 launch of Sputnik.
This book presents the history of planetary protection by tracing the responses to the above concerns on NASA s missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and many smaller bodies of our solar system. The book relates the extensive efforts put forth by NASA to plan operations and prepare space vehicles that return exemplary science without contaminating the biospheres of other worlds or our own. To protect irreplaceable environments, NASA has committed to conducting space exploration in a manner that is protective of the bodies visited, as well as of our own planet."

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

About the Book

Each time a space vehicle visits another world it runs the risk of forever changing that extraterrestrial environment. We are surrounded on Earth by a mélange of different microorganisms, and if some of these hitchhike onboard a space mission, they could contaminate and start colonies on a different planet. Such an occurrence would irrevocably alter the nature of that world, compromise all future scientific exploration of the body, and possibly damage any extant life on it. And by inadvertently carrying exotic organisms back to Earth on our spacecraft, we risk the release of biohazardous materials into our own ecosystem.

Such concerns were recognized by scientists even before the 1957 launch of Sputnik. This book presents the history of planetary protection by tracing the responses to the above concerns on NASA’s missions to the Moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and many smaller bodies of our solar system. The book relates the extensive efforts put forth by NASA to plan operations and pre- pare space vehicles that return exemplary science without contaminating the biospheres of other worlds or our own. As Cassie Conley, NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer, has said, “The public can be proud of the way that NASA has responded to planetary protection concerns, with its efforts to act responsibly, communicate openly, and address effectively the potential for contamination.” Humans have a powerful urge to explore the unknown, but to protect irreplaceable environments, NASA has committed to conducting space exploration in a manner that is protective of the bodies visited, as well as of our own planet.

Preface

Significant challenges abound in the astrobiological study of the solar system, similar to those faced by Sherlock Holmes in another context. In the search for extraterrestrial life, a negative result is nearly impossible to obtain, much less interpret. We are bathed in Earth organisms, which makes finding our own kind of life palpably easy and detecting indigenous life on other worlds much more difficult. We are not exploring the solar system to discover life that we have brought with us from home, and we are aware that Earth organisms (read: invaders) could very well erase traces of truly extraterrestrial life. Likewise, we don’t know what would happen if alien organisms were introduced into Earth’s biosphere. Would a close relationship (and a benign one) be obvious to all, or will Martian life be so alien as to be unnoticed by both Earth organisms and human defenses? We really have no data to address these questions, and considerate scientists fear conducting those experiments without proper safeguards. After all, this is the only biosphere we currently know—and we do love it!

This new book from the NASA History Series tackles an interesting duo of biological problems that will be familiar to anybody who has seen photos of Apollo astronauts quarantined after their return to Earth.

Biographie de l'auteur

Michael Meltzer has been writing books and articles about science and technology for over 30 years. He has investigated topics that include NASA expeditions to Jupiter and Saturn, planetary environmental protection, solar house design, industrial pollution prevention, and the history of U.S. commercial fishing. He has also published two science fiction stories with environmental themes. Michael has degrees in physics, geophysics, and environmental science and engineering from the University of California. He was an engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 15 years, where he helped start a pollution prevention program. He lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and daughter.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Admi
• Date d'édition: 2011
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0160888042
• ISBN 13: 9780160888045
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 542
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible