PLANETARY PROTECTION GUIDELINES POLICY & REQUIREMENTS FOR CUBESATS Dr. Cassie Conley, James E. Johnson, January 8, 2015

Planetary Protection Basics  Basic working definition - Mitigating the risks associated with microbial and organic cross-contamination, including:  Preservation of planetary conditions for future biological and organic constituent exploration Considered ‘forward contamination’  Protecting Earth and its biosphere from potential extraterrestrial sources of contamination Considered ‘backward contamination’  Human-Assisted Sample Return includes another element:  Protecting human crews from exposure to unknown life forms that may be hazardous 2

Ocean Vent Communities: o C ( o F) water 1000s of meters depth Sulfur-oxidizing Bacteria No light input from the surface Nobody thought worms could live at the bottom of the ocean! Europa, too? Life & Water… 3 Bacteria in ice, but...

Low temperature environments Deep subsurface -10 °C Life is Everywhere… 4 Up to 10 7 cells/g in 60m depth, with metabolic activity down to -20°C Cryptoendoliths Desulforudis audaxviator

…And life is on us…  Up to microbes on 1 cm² of skin  Up to 100 microbes on 1 mm² of skin Can Earth life grow on Mars? Microbes on cheese also grow in Mars chambers on Earth... 5

Planetary Protection: Over 50 Years of International Effort  1956, Rome: International Astronautical Federation meets to discuss lunar and planetary contamination  Feb. 1958: International Council for Science (ICSU) forms committee on Contamination by ExtraTerrestrial Exploration (CETEX)  June 1958: NAS establishes the SSB  July 1958: Formation of NASA  July 1958: Formation of UN-COPUOS  Oct. 1958: Formation of COSPAR by ICSU  : Publication of guidelines:  US, USSR, COSPAR  1963: NASA acquires the first ‘Planetary Quarantine Officer’ – on loan from the Public Health Service 6

International Framework for Planetary Protection  Planetary protection is an international commitment that is rooted in the United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967  Treaty ratified by 102 countries (US ratified April 1967)  Article IX, UN Outer Space Treaty  “...parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose...”  COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) policy maintains and promulgates the internationally accepted approach to planetary protection on behalf of Article IX  NASA planetary protection requirements are founded upon COSPAR policy  Planetary Protection FACTS:  Policy applies to both robotic and human missions beyond Earth orbit  Policy revised over time to reflect latest understanding about life and about solar system bodies  Policy applies to Government and non-governmental entities alike  The Moon and most Solar System Objects have no significant operational restrictions 7 Minimize unintended consequences of human exploration...

NASA’s Implementation of Planetary Protection Policy  NASA’s commitment to Planetary Protection:  Biological Contamination Control for Outbound and Inbound Planetary Spacecraft (NASA Policy Directive: NPD G)  Robotic implementation:  Planetary Protection Provisions for Robotic Extraterrestrial Missions (NASA Procedural Requirements: NPR D)  Historical implementation from Rangers to Mars Science Laboratory  Human implementation:  Conducted under the Apollo program as “Planetary Quarantine”  NASA Policy Instruction (NPI ) intends to show the path towards requirements for human missions and is in place as of 2014  NASA requirements currently being developed…  Human-assisted Sample Return:  Falls under current robotic implementation measures, with consideration of drafted human mission guidelines where applicable 8

Planetary Protection Mission Constraints & Categorization  Depend on the nature of the mission and on the target planet  Assignment of categories for each specific mission/body is to take into account current scientific knowledge based on recommendations from scientific advisory groups  Examples of specific measures include:  Documentation of spacecraft trajectories, disposal, and spacecraft material inventory  Spacecraft organic archiving and restrictions  Constraints on spacecraft operating procedures  Reduction of spacecraft biological contamination  Restrictions on the handling of returned samples W. Peet,

Planetary Protection Mission Categories PLANETMISSION MISSION PRIORITIES TYPECATEGORY ANot of direct interest for understanding the AnyI process of chemical evolution. No protection of such planets is warranted. BOf significant interest relative to the process of AnyII chemical evolution, but only a remote chance that contamination by spacecraft could jeopardize future exploration. Documentation is required. COf significant interest relative to the process of Flyby, Orbiter III chemical evolution and/or the origin of life or for which scientific opinion provides a significant chance of contamination which could Lander, Probe IV jeopardize future biological experiments. Substantial documentation and mitigation is required. AllAny Solar System BodyEarth-ReturnV “restricted” or “unrestricted” 10

Implementing Planetary Protection  All missions to Priority B or C objects require documentation of mission trajectory and disposition of hardware  All missions must ensure protection of Priority C solar system objects (Mars, Europa, Enceladus, etc.)  Reduce risk by considering potential constraints from the earliest stages of mission and hardware design  Planetary protection is a US treaty obligation, and cannot be waived... 11

Overview of Categorization for Robotic and Human Missions  The planetary protection categorization dictates what requirements apply  Mission categorization is assigned by NASA’s Planetary Protection Officer (PPO) in consultation with the Planetary Protection Subcommittee of the NAC to ensure requirements comply with policy and are sensibly based upon the latest scientific knowledge and use of evaluative and mitigating technologies  For human and sample return missions – best to keep dialog and collaboration frequent!  TENTATIVE CATEGORIES: 12 Moon - Category II/V In a nutshell, this means: Documentation Unrestricted sample return NEOs & Phobos/Deimos - Category II/V (MOSTLY) In a nutshell, this means: For NEOs – classification depends upon target NEO For Phobos/Deimos – ESA/NASA study underway Dialog with PPO! Mar/sEuropa/Enceladus - Category IV/V In a nutshell, this means: Documentation Extensive PP planning & implementation Restricted sample return

Category I or II outbound, Category V Unrestricted Return Genesis Solar Wind Sample Return Returned Sep 8, 2004 Libration point trajectory Launch July 2001 Flight system-deployed

Science class should not end in tragedy.... Science class should not The Basic Rationale for Planetary Protection Precautions (as written by Bart Simpson, Dec. 17, 2000, “Skinner’s Sense of Snow”)

Back-up/Reference

16